Classic Coca-Cola Cake Recipe

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This coca cola cake is a classic, and iconic, sweet treat! It’s moist and chocolaty, perfect for summer parties or just if your feeling a bit like some good ol southern comfort food! Plus, it’s an easy one sheet cake – bonus!

A Coca-Cola cake is a classic Southern recipe. It’s made using actual Coca-Cola and mini marshmallows in the batter! Sounds crazy right?! It’s very moist and the frosting is a rich chocolate fudge glaze. It’s pretty much the perfect dessert for a game day celebration, a BBQ or when you’re in the mood for a little comfort food! 

The trick is to not over bake it. Remove it before the center is fully cooked. Then let it sit and cool. You’ll be flipping it upside down so don’t worry if the center slightly caves in. It just means it’s going to be gooey and delicious!

overhead shot of coca cola cake

How To Make Classic Coca Cola Cake – Step By Step

Classic Coca-Cola Cake Recipe

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large pot, bring the butter, Coca-Cola and cocoa powder to a boil whisking until combined. Remove from heat.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, mini marshmallows and salt.
  • Quickly add the flour mixture into the pot and mix until combined and marshmallows are almost melted. It’s okay if some marshmallows are not completely melted.
  • In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla. Add into the pot and continue to fold the mixture until everything is combined.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and rub with butter. Pour the batter into the pan.
  • Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Remove before the center is fully cooked! You don’t want a toothpick to come out clean… you want it to come out with a little cake on it.
  • Let it cool completely, then place it upside down on a platter until the cake tips out.

Chocolate Fudge Icing

  • In a saucepan heat the butter, cocoa powder and milk until the butter
  • has melted. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.
  • Mix very well. You can also use an electric mixer to really mix it up. The texture should be smooth.

side shot of coca cola cake

What Does Coca Cola Cake Taste Like?

The Coca Cola Cake tastes a lot like a traditional chocolate sheet cake, and has icing that resembles the rich chocolate glaze on a Texas SheetCake. The soda gives the cake an extra fluffy rise, while adding a lovely hit of that delicious Coke flavor, too! If you’ve never tried it, you’re in for a treat!

The Perfect BBQ Dessert

This coca cola cake, is so moist, gooey and chocolaty! It’s the perfect to cut through that delicious meat off the BBQ! You can whip up a batch easily and cut it up on the sheet, serve it straight from there, it just feels right!

Where Did Coca Cola Cake Originate?

It’s a bit of a mystery! It’s unclear if Coca-Cola cake was a created in a home kitchen or a clever way for The Coca-Cola Company to market their soda. Historians have found newspaper articles to confirm that using cola in cake recipes originated in the Southern United States. So at least we know it’s full of southern charm!

Top Tips For Coca Cola Cake

  • Use a preheated oven.
  • Line your baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Remove your cake before the center is fully cooked.
  • Use an electric mixer for the frosting, to achieve the smoothest results.
top down coca cola cake

Check Out These Other Delicious Sheet Cake Recipes

How To Make A Neapolitan Sheet Cake

Homemade Funfetti Sheet Cake

Funfetti Sheet Cake

Ice Cream Sundae Sheet Cake

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Classic Coca-Cola Cake Recipe

Pretty much the perfect dessert for a game day celebration, a BBQ or when you’re in the mood for a little comfort food! 
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 9 servings
Calories: 809kcal
Author: Eden

Ingredients

Classic Coca-Cola Cake Recipe

  • 1 cup Coca-Cola
  • 1 cup butter or margarine, softened
  • 1/4 cup cocoa
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups miniature marshmallows
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

Chocolate Fudge Icing

  • 1 stick real butter
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 3 tablespoons whole milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 lb powdered sugar

Instructions

Classic Coca-Cola Cake Recipe

  • Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  • In a large pot, bring the butter, Coca-Cola and cocoa powder to a boil whisking until combined. Remove from heat.
  • In a separate bowl, combine the flour, sugar, mini marshmallows and salt.
  • Quickly add the flour mixture into the pot and mix until combined and marshmallows are almost melted. It’s okay if some marshmallows are not completely melted.
  • In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, baking soda and vanilla. Add into the pot and continue to fold the mixture until everything is combined.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and rub with butter. Pour the batter into the pan.
  • Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes. Remove before the center is fully cooked! You don’t want a toothpick to come out clean… you want it to come out with a little cake on it.
  • Let it cool completely, then place it upside down on a platter until the cake tips out.

Chocolate Fudge Icing

  • In a saucepan heat the butter, cocoa powder and milk until the butter
  • has melted. Remove from heat and add in the vanilla and powdered sugar.
  • Mix very well. You can also use an electric mixer to really mix it up. The texture should be smooth.

Nutrition

Calories: 809kcal | Carbohydrates: 127g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 20g | Cholesterol: 119mg | Sodium: 467mg | Potassium: 183mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 98g | Vitamin A: 1025IU | Calcium: 49mg | Iron: 2.5mg
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10 thoughts on “Classic Coca-Cola Cake Recipe”

  1. Well, I did use your recipe, and it was the most successful one of the three cakes I made. Thank you very much for this wonderful recipe, I’ll be making it again and again on every suitable occasion I get (that is, whenever I want something amazingly chocolate-y and tasteful).

    Reply
    • Yay! I am so happy to hear that it worked out for you AND I appreciate you taking the time to let me know how it turned out! Thank you so much! Now you’ve made me want to make it again this week, haha!!

      Reply
  2. My kids have their birthdays in a week, and I was looking for a nice chocolate cake recipe to make for this:
    http://www.boredpanda.com/pigs-in-the-mud-cake/
    Do you think I could use this one, consistency – wise? Taste-wise, I’m sure, it’d be unbeatable.
    I’d really appreciate it if you could give me some advice on whether it would be a good idea to go with the coke cake. Thanks for this great recipe, either way I’ll be making it some time in the future.

    Reply
    • Hi! What a cute cake that is, haha! The Coke cake can be a little gooey, but I do think it could work. I haven’t tried it in a round pan so I’m not sure how much it would make. Not sure it would make enough to do two round cakes to stack… The frosting is very good and looks like it would be perfect for that cake. If you make it, share a picture!!

      Reply
  3. Are you kidding me? I adore coca cola and I didn’t know this excisted! I adore this and am totally going to make this during the weekend!

    Reply

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