After Brooklyn Blackout Cake, here’s a slightly chocolaty recipe from Annie Bell’s Baking Bible (Kyle Books USA, Fall 2013).
Coca-Cola Cake
This Southern cake is slightly chocolatey, and it is almost impossible to guess the Coca-Cola—although if you can lay your hands on some gummy Coca-Cola bottles to adorn it, they might just provide a clue.
Makes 1 x 1 0 – inch Bundt cake
For the cake
1 cup Coca-Cola
9 tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
¾ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups self-rising flour, sifted
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
1½ cups superfine sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the icing
3 tablespoons Coca-Cola
3½ tablespoons unsalted butter, diced
1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
Equipment
10-inch nonstick bundt pan
Little Extras
Unsalted butter for greasing
All-purpose flour for dusting
Chocolate sprinkles for decorating (optional)
Bring the coke to a boil with the butter. Once the butter has melted, stir in the baking soda, which will fizz, and set aside for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 325°F convection oven/375°F conventional oven, and butter and flour a 10-inch nonstick bundt pan.
Combine the flour, cocoa, and sugar in a large bowl, add the cola mixture, and beat until smooth. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the buttermilk and vanilla. Pour in the flour mixture and beat everything to combine. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and give it a couple of taps on the work surface to bring up any air bubbles. Bake for about 40 minutes until risen and set and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Run a knife around the inner and outer edges of the pan and set aside to cool for about 30 minutes. Place a cake stand or plate on top of the pan and invert it, and leave to cool completely.
To make the icing, place the cola, butter, and cocoa in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking until smooth. Stir in the confectioners’ sugar, which will set very quickly, and without delay trickle it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides—these don’t need to be completely covered.
Decorate with chocolate sprinkles if you wish. Set aside for about an hour for the icing to set.
(* Recipe from Annie Bell’s Baking Bible –Kyle Books USA, Fall 2013- reproduced with permission, Photography by Con Poulos)