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Coca Cola Cake

Coca Cola Cake is an easy-to-make chocolate cake with a rich and decadent chocolate glaze drizzled on top.

slice of coca cola cake on a plate with coke in background

National “Have a Coke” Day is on May 8th! This is a day to celebrate the iconic soda fountain drink: Coca Cola. The easy way to celebrate this day is to pour a Coca Cola into a glass and enjoy it. But how much fun would it be to make a Coca Cola Cake? You’ll be glad you did because it’s the most delicious chocolate cake recipe! Share your love of Coca Cola on social media today using the hashtags #NationalHaveACokeDay, #HaveACokeDay and #RecipesForHolidays.

Be sure to follow my May Food Holidays page so you never miss a food holiday in the month of May!

“Without a Coca Cola, life is unthinkable.”

-Henry Miller

The History of Coca Cola:

On May 8, 1886, Dr. John Pemberton sold the 1st glass of Coca Cola at Jacob’s Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta. He created a syrup that was added to carbonated water. It was sold for 5 cents per glass as a soda fountain drink.

The name “Coca Cola” stood for two ingredients in the beverage (coca leaves and kola nuts for caffeine). It was believed that the two “C’s” might look good in advertising for the product. 3.5 grams of cocaine (from the coca leaves) was in the original product. Eventually it was produced with cocaine-free coca leaf extract.

The first ad for Coca Cola appeared in The Atlanta Journal as “the new and popular soda fountain drink.”

In its first year, the pharmacy sold 9 drinks per day.

Pemberton never realized Coca Cola’s potential and began selling off his business to various people. Just prior to his death in 1888, he sold all remaining interest to Asa Candler, an Atlanta businessman.

In 1894, bottling of Coca Cola began. The bottles looked very different than the signature bottle of today, which is a contour-shaped bottle that was patented 100 years ago. Bottling allowed the bottles to be sold in stores instead of just ordering it at a fountain shop.

Coca Cola was sold in every state by 1900.

Cans of Coca Cola began selling in 1955.

In 1971, “I’d like to buy the world a coke” was a song that was released in a commercial and in mainstream music. It was a popular song, and it is considered one of the best commercials of all time.

Today, Coca Cola is sold in every country in the world. 1.9 billion servings of Coca Cola products are sold worldwide every day.

ingredients displayed for making a coca cola cake

Ingredients needed:

  • all purpose flour
  • white sugar
  • mini marshmallows
  • salted butter
  • Coca Cola
  • unsweetened cocoa powder
  • buttermilk
  • eggs
  • baking soda
  • vanilla extract
  • powdered sugar
four photos showing how to make a coca cola cake

How to make a Coca Cola Cake:

The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray.In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and sugar.

In a medium saucepan, combine the marshmallows, butter, coca cola and cocoa powder. Heat over medium-high to boiling, and then pour the hot mixture over the flour and sugar. Stir to combine.

Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread to cover the bottom of the pan evenly. Bake for 40 minutes.

two photos showing icing in bowl and then drizzled onto chocolate cake

In a saucepan, heat the butter, cocoa powder and coca cola to boiling. Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour the frosting over the warm chocolate cake and spread to cover evenly.

coca cola cake in a pan

Let the frosting cool completely before slicing. The frosting will not harden, but it will become a bit firm to the touch.

spatula with slice of chocolate cake

Slice and serve! The result is a chocolatey cake with the most amazing, rich frosting. Enjoy!

It turns out that soda pop is a popular ingredient in recipes. Consider trying Root Beer pulled pork, 7-Up pound cake or Dr. Pepper glazed ham.

slice of coca cola cake on a plate with coke in background

Fun Facts About Coca Cola:

  • The formula for Coca Cola has been a well-guarded secret. It’s kept in a vault at the World of Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, Georgia.
  • A 12-ounce can of Coke has 38 grams of sugar (about 7 teaspoons) and is 140 calories.
  • Somewhere along the line, Coca Cola became known as “Coke.”
  • On average, each person consumes a product from the Coca Cola company every four days.
  • Many varieties of Coca Cola have been released such as Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Caffeine Free, etc.
  • Pepsi is Coca Cola’s main rival. It’s usually second to Coca Cola, but it outsells it in some regions.
  • Many celebrities (such as Elvis Presley, David Bowie, George Michael, Elton John and Whitney Houston) have promoted Coca Cola.
  • The Coca Cola bottle has appeared in works of art by artists such as Salvadore Dali and Andy Warhol.
slice of coca cola cake on a plate with coke in background

Coca Cola Cake

Yield: One 9x13-inch cake
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This classic chocolate cake has a rich chocolate frosting too.

Ingredients

CAKE:

  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 cups granulated white sugar
  • 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter
  • 1 cup coca cola
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING:

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1/4 cup coca cola
  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

MAKE THE CAKE:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and sugar.
  3. In a medium saucepan, combine the marshmallows, butter, coca cola and cocoa powder. Heat over medium-high to boiling, and then pour the hot mixture over the flour and sugar. Stir to combine.
  4. Add the buttermilk, eggs, baking soda and vanilla. Whisk to combine.
  5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread to cover the bottom of the pan evenly. Bake for 40 minutes.

MAKE THE FROSTING:

In a saucepan, heat the butter, cocoa powder and coca cola to boiling. Remove from heat and whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Pour the frosting over the warm chocolate cake and spread to cover evenly. Let cool completely before slicing.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1 slice
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 387Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 217mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 1gSugar: 45gProtein: 3g

Nutritional information is figured using a nutrition calculator. It's not likely to be 100% accurate.

CAROLYN tadlock

Saturday 25th of February 2023

can you use a cake mix????

Lori Lange

Sunday 26th of February 2023

I think that would be a different recipe. Maybe try googling "Coca Cola cake recipe using cake mix."

Renee Wood

Wednesday 21st of December 2022

This is so yummy! My Mom who has passed, use to make this for us all the time!! I don't think she added marshmallows to hers though because I do not like them but maybe she did and did not tell me! It is the Best dessert and so very yummy and soft!!

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