Coca Cola Cake
Coca Cola cake is a Southern classic that's deliciously sweet with a fudgy frosting. Make this recipe for an easy dessert that's full of flavor!
Cola cake has intrigued me for years… it seems to be somewhat of a southern specialty and I’ve always been drawn to its similarity with Texas sheet cake (another Southern specialty). I’ve been obsessed with Texas sheet cake since taking my first bite of that utterly amazing boiled frosting that sets up like fudge on top of a warm cake. Talk about heaven.
This Coca-Cola cake is made in much the same way, except it also includes a can of cola in both the batter and in the frosting. It’s subtle, but you can totally taste the cola when you eat the cake, and I love the unique flavor. As if you would need any other reason to make this cake, but it can be accomplished using just one bowl, one small saucepan, and a measuring cup. Low maintenance is always a big selling point for me!
Ingredients
There are the usual staples in this coca cola cake recipe like flour, sugar, eggs, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Here are some additional items you'll need:
- Butter – use unsalted and cut into small cubes so it melts faster
- Cinnamon – adds a warm flavor and compliments the flavor of the cola
- Cola – I used regular Coca-Cola, but any brand should work
- Cocoa powder – gives that rich chocolate flavor
- Buttermilk – adds moisture and tenderness to the cake, plus a little bit of tang
The frosting for coca cola cake is unique because it's made on the stove. Doing this concentrates the flavor of the cola and makes the texture more like a glaze.
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- Cola – make sure to reduce all the way to get the right consistency
- Butter – again, cut into small cubes for melting
- Cocoa powder – use unsweetened since there's already a lot of sugar
- Powdered sugar – sift well to avoid clumps
How to make it
- Preheat the Oven – Heat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
- Mix the Dry Ingredients – Grab a large bowl and whisk together all of the dry ingredients for the cake, minus the cocoa powder.
- Combine the Flavoring – Add one can of cola, cubed butter, and cocoa powder to a saucepan and bring to a boil.
- Make the Batter – Pour the cola mixture into the dry ingredients and combine with a rubber spatula until moistened. In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Then add to the batter, whisking the whole time.
- Bake the Cake – Pour the batter into a greased baking pan and pop in the oven. Bake for about 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Make the Frosting – Pour the other can of cola into a saucepan and bring to a boil. It's important to reduce it down to about ½ cup to get the right consistency. Stir in the cocoa powder and butter until melted together, then remove from the heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar until smooth.
- Put it all Together – Pour the frosting over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. Let the whole thing cool before serving.
Recipe tips and tricks
- Buttermilk – If you can't find this in stores, you can easily make your own. Add ½ cup milk to a measuring cup and stir in ½ tablespoon of white vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or lemon juice. Let it sit at room temperature until thickened and curdled. Unsweetened yogurt can also be substituted for the buttermilk in equal amounts.
- Storage Instructions – If you manage to have any leftovers of your coca cola cake, they should be covered or kept in an airtight container. Store at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Cake Size – You can halve this moist chocolate cake recipe and bake in an 8×8 baking dish. The full recipe can also be made into a sheet cake instead. Use a half sheet pan, which is the size you would typically use to make cookies. It might be smart to line the baking sheet with parchment paper after greasing to help the cake not stick to the pan.
- Layering – Because this cake has such a dense texture, it probably won't work well as a layer cake. It would also be difficult to get that crunchy glazed layer of frosting in the middle, which is the best part!
- Adding Nuts – Chopped walnuts or pecans are a popular addition to this coca cola cake recipe and can be sprinkled on top of the frosting for an extra crunch.
This cake is extremely moist and while it packs a big chocolate punch, it’s not overly rich, which I love. I also adore topping it with a big old scoop of vanilla ice cream, which of course is optional, but encouraged. This is way too easy a cake to not add it to your recipe rotation immediately… I’m thinking it would make a perfect Sunday cake!
I hope you'll make this the next time you’re craving something ultra-chocolatey! If you make it, I'd love if you would take a moment to stop back and share a review below, it helps other readers so much. ENJOY! 😍
Coca Cola Cake (Moist Chocolate Cake Recipe)
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 cups (396 g) granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) salt
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) ground cinnamon
- 12 ounce (340.2 ml) can cola
- 1 cup (227 g) unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
- ¼ cup (21 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Frosting:
- 12 ounce (340.2 ml) can cola
- ½ cup (113 g) salted butter, cut into small cubes
- ¼ cup (21 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 cups (454 g) powdered sugar, sifted
Instructions
- Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
- In a small saucepan, stir together the cola, butter and cocoa powder over medium-high heat and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Pour into the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula until moistened.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk and vanilla until blended. Add to the batter, whisking constantly.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.
- Make the Frosting: About 15 minutes before the cake is finished, begin the frosting. In a small saucepan, bring the cola to a boil over high heat and cook until the liquid is reduced to ½ cup, about 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the butter and cocoa powder until the butter is melted, then remove from the heat. Add the powdered sugar about 1 cup at a time, whisking until smooth. Pour immediately over the hot cake in an even layer. Allow the cake to cool to room temperature before serving. Leftovers should be covered and stored at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
(Recipe from Taste of Home)
[photos by Dee of One Sarcastic Baker]
I have been making this cake for years. But lost my recipe book. I’m so glad you published this.
I love to cook it in bunt pans so the frosting drizzles down the sides.
My daughter in law made it and the cake was a bit dry. What would have made it dry?
Frosting was thinner than it should have been. I wish I had let it cool some first. It ran off and pooled in the corners of the pan. It is delicious however.
I’m a lifelong baker and I just made this recipe following the directions exactly. It’s a very easy recipe, first off, since you don’t need a mixer and no layers are involved. Just assemble all of your ingredients and you’re halfway done. I just finished it and haven’t tasted it yet, but the frosting was unusually different due to the concentrated cola flavor mixed with the cocoa, and I really like it.
I used a glass 9×13″ baking dish, per the instructions. Next time I may try a cookie sheet since that would make it a larger cake and a little thinner—more to go around! I cooked the cake around 40 minutes. The toothpick inserted came out clean. I used 12 ozs of Coca-Cola and had no problem with the batter being too think. The cake baked up beautifully and light. I started the frosting about 15 minutes prior to the end of baking time. It is IMPORTANT to let the cola boil down to 1/2 cup! I used a larger 3 qt saucepan and it took about 14 minutes for the liquid to cook down to 1/2 cup. I measured it with a heat-resistant measuring cup and I got 1/2 cup. The I added in the cubed butter and cocoa powder and whisked till smooth. I then sifted in the 10x sugar about a cup at a time and whisked it in good. I used the whole box. I then spread the frosting on the still warm cake and it went on smoothly. It seems like a LOT of icing for a 13×9″ cake; that’s why I may use a sheet pan next time.
The frosting tastes so good and it’s setting up nice and fudgy on the cake. I’m sure it will be delicious when it’s cool. Just follow the recipe and measure that cola in the frosting! And by the way, I can taste the cola flavor in the icing and it compliments the chocolate! I’ll be making this one again.
I made this for a family reunion and it must have been a hit because there were no leftovers. I did feel that there may have been a touch to much frosting for my tastes because it was quite sweet. I might try and cut back the amount of frosting if I make this again.
when I made the frosting for the cola cake . It said to boil 12 ounces of cola until down to one cup and add the powdered sugur and whipp but it never did get thick . So I
made the recipe for the frosting with only the milk and butter and vanila and powdered sugur
Was there an error!
ginger
Hi Ginger, It should actually be boiled to 1/2 cup, which might be why it didn’t thicken up enough.
My son loves Coca Cola Cake from Cracker Barrel and wanted one for his birthday last year. I came across this recipe and it turned out great. This year we had the Cracker Barrel version at a party and he told me he preferred ‘my’ cake. Win! Lots of sugar and butter, but birthdays are only once a year, right?
Googled this because my mommas recipe calls for marshmallows, yuck. It’s in the oven now and my house smls better than a bake shop :)
Can this be doubled and baked in a sheet pan
Hi Shelia, If it’s a full sheet pan, that will probably work, but it will be too much batter for a standard half sheet pan.
This is a wonderful cake – easy to make & delicious ! I made it for friends & they loved it. Since my husband likes icing so much, I made a second batch & poured it over the cooled & set icing that was poured over hot cake. This has become our new favorite cake.
Thanks for sharing this recipe !
I was SO looking forward to making this for my sons birthday.
You could have used half the sugar and it would have been plenty sweet. The first bite and my son said “what is that weird taste?” As soon as I tasted it I knew it was the cinnamon. I love cinnamon, but not in this cake. If I made it again, I’d definitely leave it out.
Needless to say I have four boys who love sweets and besides the pieces they tried it went untouched.
Here’s my take on this abomination, the good and the bad:
The Good: I only used one cup of sugar in the cake recipe and got a very nice, dense, chocolate cake with Coca Cola flavor. It’s a really neat trick and worth filing the recipe away (the cake part at least) for its novelty. I only have an 8×8 pan, so the leftover batter went into muffin molds and both turned out fine, so this is a good recipe for muffin/cupcake making. In the future, I will avoid making the frosting. It is awful. I’ll probably hunt for either a vanilla or cherry flavored topping to marry with the cake’s coke flavor or just stick to a simple butter cream. I wonder how it would fare if using another cola like either Vanilla or Cherry Coke or even Dr. Pepper (not available in my country).
And now The Bad: The sugar in the frosting. My teeth hurt just reading the recipe. 6 total cups of sugar on top of the two cans of Coke. I didn’t use half the sugar and the whole thing was disgustingly sweet. Everybody at the table winced when they took their first bite and most didn’t attempt a second bite. The cake that received the frosting is going into the trash if I can’t scrape this sugar sludge off the top. Seriously, the frosting is utter garbage for anybody over the age of 13… and even children shouldn’t be eating that much sugar. This cake is pure southern cooking, and this recipe is one reason why southerners have greater incidents of obesity and diabetes than people in the rest of the U.S.
One final thing… buttermilk isn’t available where I live, so I used an equivalent amount of plain, unsweetened yogurt. It’s a valid substitution that has worked in every recipe I’ve ever tried.
Hector…bless your heart. Your personality could use the sugar you didn’t add to the cake. Also, don’t substitute in this particular recipe. It won’t work. Yogurt does not provide the same taste, texture nor chemical reactions required as buttermilk does FOR THIS CAKE. What works elsewhere will not work here. Stick to the recipe. If you can’t do that, don’t make it at all. And don’t leave a crappy review for a cake you did not make correctly in the first place.
Would it be ok to layer this cake? I have made it before and love it! but was curious about making it maybe triple layered?
Hi April, I’m not sure how well this would layer since it’s such a dense cake. It’s worth giving it a shot, though!
This recipe is a constant request in my house. We have baked it for birthday after birthday and just because. It is truly delicious!!! The cake itself is moist and not too overly sweet which pairs perfectly with the icing that reminds us of the chocolate glazing on Krispy Kreme doughnuts. :) So glad we found this recipe! Thanks for sharing it.
Can you substitute the buttermilk with something else?
You could use plain yogurt.
Excellent recipe I have made countless times and its beautiful, often get asked for the recipe and happily copy and paste the link to your page, Making again tonight for my sons yr 7 camp as I know theyl love it and it keeps well too. Thankyou for sharing.
I made this cake yesterday and its very moist though i didnt make the frosting on it. it tastes really nice and am hoping my friends love it too. thanks for sharing. Your pic looks nice and am looking forward to trying it with ice cream.
Hi, I made this cake as a friend keeps saying how amazing cola cake is. I followed the recipe exactly and I am experienced at cooking and baking and have a great oven, but it didnt seem to cook through enough. It is a moist cake, but had a raw taste to the bottom of it :/ don’t know where I went wrong, i kept it in for longer than the advised cooking time but still did not come out as cooked as I’d have liked without it beginning to be burnt on the outside.
Store up to four days? Ha! Like it would ever last that long. I just today made this, but added chopped walnuts to the frosting. I have to add nuts to just about any dessert I make, and they go so well with this one. I’m pretty sure I’d have to rate this recipe as my all-time favorite chocolate cake. It is spectacular!
Would it be possible to make this cake in a round tin? And even possibly as a round layered cake?
Hi Natasha, I don’t think this would work as well as a layered cake… it truly needs no frosting, and you’ll lose that crunchy glazed layer on top.
This looks delicious. I think it’s important to feel what makes you feel good! thank you for share
Just made this cake. Wow! For next time, do you think I would be able to “half” the recipe and bake on a 9″ x 9″ pan? Thanks for sharing!
Yes, you could definitely do that!
I love the texas sheet cake. The frosting is the best thing I’ve ever ate. But I’ve only made it in a sheet pan. The description says sheet, but the directions say 9×13 baking pan. Is it actually not a sheet? I’d hate to make it and it was actually supposed to be a sheet.
Hi Abbey, I couldn’t see anywhere that I referenced a sheet pan; it’s definitely a 9×13.
Hi, do you have the recipe for UK equivalent measures please as the websites I have checked are quite varied for the different ingredients and I don’t want it to turn out wrong as it sounds amazing! Thanx :)
Hi Lyndsay, I always use this chart for conversions and weighing ingredients: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/master-weight-chart.html
Shame the measurements are US and not Metric…..had to keep trying to find the equivalent of 1 cup of whatever into g or ml…..sure I’ve messed up because of
1 cup usually turns out to be about 200 grams. It’s actually a little bit more, but that extra bit rarely makes a difference, so skip it. So, for example, 1 cup butter is 225 grams, but since I can buy 200g bricks of butter at my store, it isn’t worth troubling with the extra 25g. 1 cup of sugar is 211g, but those 11g aren’t worth trifling over. There are many websites that will do conversions for you. Google is your friend here. Lastly, you may just want to invest in some cheap measuring cups or even find an old coffee or tea cup that measures 8 ounces and use that as a yardstick… or should I say meterstick?
Shame I had to mess around with the US measurements and convert into UK …..Think I messed up along the way
I can’t wait to try this out! Can I substituent butter with olive oil in the cake?
Hi Cheryl, I would not recommend substituting olive oil for the butter.
I have been making this cake for a considerable length of time and its one of my top picks. I add slashed pecans to the icing. It’s yummy and delicious!
Can you make this cake without chocolate?
Hi Sandi, No, I don’t think so.
As if chocolate cake isn’t tasty enough, this one has a surprise twist. The Coca Cola and chocolate icing is the perfect thing to pair with it! This cake would be great decorated with chocolate shavings.