Description
This old-fashioned Southern Coca Cola Cake is a deeply flavorful chocolate sheet cake infused with classic cola soda or pop. The cake is light and tender and topped with an incredibly decadent, fudge-like frosting that’s sooo lush. You’ll love this traditional Southern treat that feeds a crowd; it’s the perfect chocolate-loaded sweet, party dessert, snacking cake, and everything in between!
Ingredients
For the chocolate cola cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 teaspoons espresso powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 ½ cups Coca Cola soda (do not use diet)
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla essence (extract or paste)
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- Shaved chocolate, for garnish- optional
For the fudgy chocolate ganache frosting:
- 1 ¾ cups heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 10 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
For the chocolate cola cake:
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Then preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a half sheet pan with nonstick spray and then line it with parchment paper for good measure. Then set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, both sugars, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder. Stir the dry ingredients well to thoroughly combine.
- Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add the eggs, buttermilk, cola soda, oil, vanilla essence, and ground allspice. Whisk the mixture until the batter is fully combined and smooth- the batter should be runny. Then pour the cake batter into the prepared sheet pan and gently tap the pan on the counter to release any air pockets, ensuring the cake reaches the edges and fills the pan.
- Bake the cake for 18-22 minutes, rotating the pan at the halfway mark– or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
For the fudgy chocolate ganache frosting:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the heavy cream and brown sugar. Whisk the mixture together and bring to a simmer. When the mixture starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat.
- Place the chopped chocolate into the saucepan and let it stand for 1-2 minutes. Then use a rubber spatula to stir the chocolate into the cream until a fully melted, smooth ganache forms. Add in the cubed butter, espresso powder, and salt and continue stirring until the butter melts and everything is well combined.
- Refrigerate the ganache until chilled but spreadable, about 1 – 1 ½ hours. You can also cover and refrigerate the ganache overnight. Note: the ganache will harden the longer it’s chilled; as such, it will need to sit out for about 1 hour to come back up to room temperature to achieve a spreadable consistency for frosting.
- After chilling, stir the ganache frosting and then use an offset spatula or rubber spatula to frost the cake, creating swoops with the back of a spoon. Garnish the cake with chocolate shavings, if desired. Slice the cake into wedges and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-free needs? Swap the all-purpose flour for any gluten-free baking flour as a 1:1 ratio (we love Bob’s Red Mill gf flour!).
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.