Coca-Cola UNITED

Celebrating 120 Years of Coca-Cola Bottling with Coca-Cola Cake

coca-cola
Photo by Erin O. Smith

If you’ve never had a Coca-Cola Cake—or it’s just been a while—it’s time you give this recipe a try! Keep reading our official, easy, and delicious Coca-Cola Cake recipe. 

Coca-Cola Cake

Coke has been a Southern staple for 133 years. In fact, a lot of Southerners refer to all sodas as Coke! If your Southern friend asks you if you’d like a Coke, be ready to specify which kind. 

2019 is a special year for Coca-Cola because it marks the 120th year since the first Coca-Cola bottling company opened in Chattanooga. This gives the city of Chattanooga an incredible honor as the birthplace of Coca-Cola bottling—and what better way to celebrate this milestone than with a classic Coca-Cola cake? 

Cracker Barrel serves a version of the Coca-Cola Cake, although their ingredients list differs from the original recipe. They commissioned an outside company to create some “speed scratch” recipes, designed for feeding the masses. A mathematical error resulted in a different kind of Coca-Cola Cake, but they liked it so much they served it that way! The most important thing about their cake, of course, is that it calls for real coke poured from 2-liter bottles, not syrup. 

Here’s the official Coca-Cola company’s recipe for Coca-Cola Cake—give it a try!

Ingredients

2 cups of sugar

2 cups of all-purpose flour

1 cup of Coca-Cola

1 ½ cups of small marshmallows

½ cup of butter or margarine

½ cup of vegetable oil

3 tablespoons of cocoa

1 teaspoon of baking soda

½ cup of buttermilk

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift the sugar and flour together, then add the marshmallows. In a saucepan, mix the butter or margarine, oil, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Bring all of this a boil and pour it over the dry ingredients, and mix until well blended. Dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk just before adding it to the rest of the batter, along with the eggs and vanilla extract. Mix everything well, and pour into a well-greased 9 x13 inch pan. Bake the cake for 35-45 minutes, and frost it as soon as it comes out of the oven!

Coca-Cola Cake Frosting

Of course you can buy your own frosting, but if you’re committed to baking this cake from scratch you’ll need to make the frosting too! It’s very simple, and definitely worth it. 

Ingredients

½ cup of butter

3 tablespoons of cocoa

6 tablespoons of Coca-Cola

1 box (or 16 oz) of confectioners sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup of chopped pecans

Directions

Combine the butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola in a saucepan. Bring it all to a boil and pour it over the confectioners sugar, blending everything well. Add the vanilla extract and pecans. Spread it over your cake when it’s fresh out of the oven, let it cool, and serve in squares!

Coke has been used in all kinds of recipes for decades, from grilled chicken and ribs to crockpot and dessert recipes. Give this Southern classic a try, and visit Coca-Cola’s website for even more recipes!