How to Make Gluten-Free Coca-Cola Cake

Do I drink soda regularly? Nope! But when I do, it’s usually Coke. Like most folks, my memories of Coke stretch back to childhood. My memories, perhaps, are a little different than most. When I’d have an asthma attack, the school nurse would give me my inhaler. She’d also pop open a can of Coke. So I’d sit there, laboring to breathe with a red can of Coke. (She did this because my allergist thought that caffeine helped with asthma.) My mom rarely bought soda for the house; so drinking it, even during an asthma attack, felt like a treat.

While I’ve drank many cans of the Coke, I’ve never baked with it. I’d heard of a Coca-Cola cake but I’d never had a chance to make it. No time like the present, right?

I pulled up the recipe on Coke’s website. While reading the recipe, my teeth started chattering. Why?

The original recipe included:

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup Coca-Cola

1 1/2 cups marshmallows

1 pound confectioners’ sugar (for the icing)

Did that make your teeth chatter too? I understand.

The sugar wasn’t the only thing that got my attention. The 9×13-inch cake called for one stick of butter and 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. Oy! The original recipe made one very sweet, very rich cake. Too sweet and rich for my tastes!

I decided to modify it.

With the sugar and fat reduced, the flavor of the Coca-Cola shines. If you haven’t had a Coke in awhile, you might have forgotten that it’s spicy. Spice=yum!

I reduced the amount of sugar from two cups to one and a quarter cup. I nixed the marshmallows, cut the oil down to two tablespoons from a half cup and reduced the confectioners’ sugar in the icing from four cups to two and a half. And, of course, I made it gluten-free.

The recipe makes a dense and moist sheet cake. Thanks to the icing, which you make on the stovetop and pour over the warm cake, the edges of the cake become pudding-like. Some of my tasters loved this wet texture; others, including me, did not.

To be honest, I preferred the cake (dare I say it??) without the traditional icing. For me the icing masked the tender crumb of the cake and its delicate flavor. I do realize, however, that without this icing, many would not consider this to be the classic Coca-Cola cake.

To keep the spirit of the cake, I’ve included the icing recipe. If you like a moist, pudding-like cake, make it. If you don’t, simply dust the cake with powdered sugar or ice it with cream cheese icing. The tang of cream cheese icing goes well with the cake. And, if you use Philly cream cheese, you’ll have a nice blend of regional favorites right in your cake pan. Neat, right?

Here’s how to make my version of the beloved Coca-Cola cake.

I love how this looks like I was lazy and just left an open can of soda in an ingredient photo. You want to use regular coke, not diet for this recipe.

Melt the butter and oil together.

There’s a little cocoa powder in the cake. Once the butter’s melted, add it to the pot. The smell? Let’s just say if heaven doesn’t smell this good, I am not sure I want to go there. (Kidding. Mostly.)

This is the Coke’s big moment. Look! It’s bubbling with excitement.

Add the Coke to the butter/oil/cocoa mixture. It will bubble up. Honestly, I found the fizz kind of exciting!

While the Coke mixture cools slightly, add the sugar to the dry ingredients. (And remember…that sugar I’m pouring in? It’s reduced from the original recipe. Can you even imagine??)

Coke isn’t the only liquid in this cake. Buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla join in the fun. Whisk ’em together before adding to the dry ingredients. If the mixture is a little lumpy that’s fine!

In goes the buttermilk mixture.

Whisk the batter. It’ll be thick. Really thick. You can use a handheld electric mixer, a stand mixer, or a handheld whisk. It’s up to you!

Add the Coke mixture. Look! It’s still fizzy. Nifty, eh?

Whisk until batter is smooth, about one minute. Go slow at first. That prevents the batter from slopping all over your counter.

Batter goes into a 9×13-inch pan and then into the oven.

During the last few minutes of baking. You start the icing.

Again with melted butter and cocoa powder.

Add the remaining Coke, powdered sugar, and bring to a boil. I thought all the sugar had dissolved. I was wrong. As you’ll  see in the next picture.

Oy! Some lumps of sugar remained. They did “melt” a few minutes. So not really a big deal. And, to me, lumps of sugar aren’t that big of a deal anyway. But that’s just me.

You want a slice, don’t you?

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Gluten-Free Coca Cola Cake

Remember to use regular coca cola for this recipe and not diet!

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Author GlutenFreeBaking.com

Ingredients

• For the Cake
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup; 4 ounces; 113 grams)
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (1 1/3 ounces; 36 grams)
• 1 cup granulated sugar ( 7 ounces; 198 grams)
• 1 1/2 cups white rice flour (6 ounces; 85 grams)
• 1/2 cup cornstarch (2 ounces; 56 grams)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (about 1/2 ounce; 14 grams)
• 1 cup regular Coca-Cola if using a 12-ounce can, reserve remaining Coke for the icing
• 1/2 cup buttermilk (4 ounces; 113 grams)
• 2 large eggs (about 3 1/2 ounces; 100 grams, out of shell)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Frosting

• 1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup; 4 ounces; 113 grams)
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder (about 1/2 ounce; 14 grams)
• 6 tablespoons regular Coca-Cola
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar (10 ounces; 283 grams)

Instructions

1. Prepare the Cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.

2. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine butter and oil. Heat over medium heat until butter melts.
3. While butter melts, whisk together granulated sugar, white rice flour, cornstarch, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum in large bowl.

4. Turn your attention back to the stove. Add cocoa powder to melted butter. Whisk to combine. Bring mixture to a boil. Add Coca-cola; swirl pan to combine and remove pan from heat. In small bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Mixture might be lumpy.

5. Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients. Whisk. Batter will be thick. Add cooled butter/Coca-Cola mixture. Whisk until batter is smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

6. Bake until cake rises and springs back to the touch, about 25-30 minutes.

7. Prepare the Frosting: In small saucepan, combine butter and cocoa powder. Heat over medium heat until butter melts and mixture beings to bubble. Add Coca-Cola. Bring to boil. Add confectioners' sugar and, if using, nuts. Stir until smooth. If cake is not done baking, reduce heat to low. Stir icing occasionally.

8. Remove cake from oven. Pour warm icing evenly over cake. Cool cake; cut into slices and serve.