Southern Coca Cola Cake

Old fashioned coca cola cake slice on a white plate.

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Southern Coca-Cola Cake is an old-fashioned favorite from my grandmother Dorothy's 1970s recipe that’s moist, nostalgic, and full of classic Southern flavor.

Course Baking

Cuisine American

Diet Vegetarian

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 511kcal

Author Lise Sullivan Ode

Ingredients

For the cake

1 cup butter, softened
1 ¾ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
5 tablespoons unsweetened 100% cocoa powder - Dutch process
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup buttermilk
1 ¼ cup Coca Cola
1 ½ cups mini marshmallows

For the icing

⅓ cup Coca Cola
4 cups powdered sugar
½ cup butter
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup toasted pecan halves

Instructions

For the cake

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.Set aside. In a separate large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla, mixing until combined. Add buttermilk, cola and dry ingredients. Mix until smooth, then stir in the marshmallows. Pour the batter into a greased 13x9-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 40–45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. While cake is baking, and about 15 minutes before it's done, make the frosting.

For the icing

In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder, and Coca-Cola. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and mix in the powdered sugar. Pour the warm frosting evenly over the warm cake, top with pecans and allow it to cool completely before slicing. Store cake covered for up to 3 days or it will keep in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Notes

If you don't like pecans, you can omit them. Instead, you can garnish cake with a dollop of Cool Whip and a maraschino cherry, if desired.

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