Classic Southern Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake: 3 Recipes

Best Chocolate Cake Ever?

This sinfully rich chocolate concoction of the 1960s was a favorite during my teenage years and was a standard at parties during that time. There are several easy recipes for this moist, delicious sheet cake, and I have gathered several of them here. I hope you enjoy baking the recipes and eating this delicious blast from the past.

I've also added some of my favorite 1960s songs and some Coca-Cola cookbooks, too. So even if you don't bake, enjoy this trip down memory lane. What were you doing in 1969 besides eating Coca-Cola chocolate cake?

Cola Cake in 1969

Let's go back to 1969, a time of experimentation in music, food, science, and more. Peace, love, and rock and roll were the themes of the decade, and it all culminated in 1969 with Woodstock. The Age of Aquarius was the best record of the year, and while it was playing, in between wild gyrations and snuggling slow dances, teenagers stuffed their faces with the mouthwatering treat, Coca-Cola cake.

Coca-Cola was king, and slogans like: "Things Go Better With Coke" and "It's the Real Thing" became part of the culture of the times. The Coca-Cola cake was born out of this opulent time when more was better. Chocolate cake is good, but making it richer and moister by adding Coca-Cola is much better. Hey man, you don't even have to take it out of the cake pan. All you have to do is pour the gooey icing on top of the warm cake while it is still in the pan. Delicious and easy to make, too. Yes, this version is much, much better.

Here are some of the recipes for this delectable treat that is still enjoyed today. Some people say that it is the best chocolate cake ever.

Age of Aquarius: Fifth Dimension

Get in the mood and listen to the music while you decide which recipe to use.

Recipe 1: Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake

This recipe comes from the Coca-Cola Company itself.

Prep time: 15 min Cook time: 45 min Ready in: 1 hour Yields: 20-25 servings

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups small marshmallows
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 1 cup Coca-Cola
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 tablespoons cocoa
• 6 tablespoons Coca-Cola
• 1 (16 ounces) box of confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, sift sugar and flour. Add marshmallows. In a saucepan, mix butter, oil, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter along with eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well. Pour into a well-greased 9-by-13-inch pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and frost immediately.
2. To make the frosting, combine butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and pour over the confectioners' sugar, blending well. Add vanilla extract and pecans. Spread over hot cake. When cool, cut into squares and serve.

Recommended

Expert Coffee Hack: Doctor Reveals How to Maximize Your Daily Cup of Joe

Recipe 2: All-Butter Coca-Cola Cake

This recipe comes from cooks.com. It contains all butter—there's no oil or margarine in this one.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 2 cups unsifted flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 sticks butter
• 3 tbsp. cocoa
• 1 cup Coca-Cola
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. soda
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 tbsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

For the Icing:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 3 tbsp. cocoa
• 6 tbsp. Coca-Cola
• 1 box confectioners' sugar
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Instructions

1. Sift flour and sugar into a bowl.
2. Heat butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola to boiling point. Pour over the flour and sugar mixture.
3. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs, vanilla, and marshmallows; mix. The batter will be thin, and marshmallows will float to the top.
4. Pour batter into an oiled, floured, oblong pan.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Ice cake while hot.

Back in the day, we made this gooey cake without marshmallows. The video (except for the nuts) and recipe below are similar to the one we used.

Recipe 3: No-Marshmallow Coca-Cola Chocolate Cake

This recipe also comes from cooks.com. It contains no marshmallows and calls for less cocoa.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 2 cups unsifted cake flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 sticks butter
• 2 tbsp. cocoa
• 1 cup Coca-Cola
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/4 tsp. salt

For the Icing:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 6 tbsp. Coca-Cola
• 1 box confectioners' sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 tbsp. cocoa

Instructions

1. Sift together the flour and sugar.
2. Heat to the boiling point of the butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola.
3. Add to the flour and sugar mixture. Stir to blend.
4. Add buttermilk, soda, eggs, salt, and vanilla. Stir with a spoon until well blended.
5. Pour into a greased and floured oblong pan (Pyrex dish).
6. Make the icing: Heat to boiling point the butter, cocoa, and Coca-Cola. Add confectioners' sugar and vanilla; stir to blend.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
8. Using a fork, make holes in the hot cake and pour the hot icing over it.

The video recipe below is in metric measurements.

© 2008 Yvonne L B