Coke Zero Birthday Cake
Posted: September 1st, 2010 | Jessie | | Tags: birthday cake, chocolate cake, sheet cake, soda | 2 Comments »
Last week was my good friend Andrew’s birthday. I knew I had to make him a cake, but had some trouble deciding on a recipe. He likes everything so no recipes were jumping out as the obvious choice. I started browsing my cake cook books and came across a recipe for Coca Cola cake. Of course! Andrew is a Coke Zero fiend and I knew he’d get a kick out of it being in a cake. This cake is delicious. It’s really moist, fudgy, and chocolaty without being overly rich. The cake doesn’t actually have the flavor of Coke, but I think it’s the carbonation from the soda that gives it such a great texture.
I increased the amount of marshmallows in this cake since they’re a favorite of Andrew’s. During baking all of the marshmallows rose to the top. This cake is similar to a Texas Sheet Cake in that a hot frosting is poured on top of the cooling cake. I think that the hot frosting melted the marshmallows. So if you’re a marshmallow lover don’t expect lots of marshmallows in your cake slice. If you hate marshmallows – don’t worry. You won’t be able to taste them.
I actually cut a piece of this cake to take a picture before I brought it to Andrew’s birthday dinner. I thought I would be able to smooth the frosting out after I’d returned the slice to the pan so no one would notice. That might have worked had I saved some extra frosting. I didn’t, so this is how the cake looked when served. It tasted so good that I don’t think anyone minded that it looked a little messy.
Coke Zero Cake
Adapted from Southern Living
1 cup Coca-Cola (or Coke Zero)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 3/4 1 1/4 cups sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 1/2 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 2 cups miniature marshmallows
Garnish: 3/4 cup chopped pecans, toasted
3. Combine flour, cocoa, and soda. Add to butter mixture alternately with cola mixture; begin and end with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended.
4. Stir in marshmallows. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan. Bake at 350° for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven; cool 10 minutes. Pour Coca-Cola Frosting over warm cake; garnish, if desired.
Note: Don’t make the frosting ahead–you need to pour it over the cake shortly after baking.
Coca Cola Frosting
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/3 cup Coca-Cola
3 tablespoons cocoa
1 (16-ounce) package 3 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla.
this cake looks AMAZING!!! I think I will try to make it this weekend. ; )
Wow. And yum. Andrew is a lucky bday boy!