Have a Coke and a Smile (and a piece of cake)!

Yee Haw! I’ve got a little country in me. My mom is probably one of my favorite cooks specializing in southern cuisine. Her fried chicken is the best I’ve ever had. Last night she hosted a dinner for a few Virgo birthdays and made fried spot. A lot of people wouldn’t waste their time on that fish but it is one of my favorites. Especially when I get to eat the tasty fried tails that no one bothers to eat because they think it is nasty. My dad got me hooked on those as a kid telling me it tasted like a potato chip. Way better, but you don’t have to trust me, just pass your unwanted tail to me.

In the spirit of southern goodness I baked a Coca-Cola Cake this weekend to take to a friend’s house as a group of them were “carb-loading” for the marathon. I’ve made this a few times. It is a simple chocolate cake with a delicious gooey chocolate icing. Make sure to not make the icing ahead of time, you will want it warm to pour over the cake shortly after baking.

Coca-Cola Cake from Southern Living

Ingredients:

1 cup Coca-Cola

½ cup buttermilk

1 cup butter, softened

1 ¾ cups sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ cups miniature marshmallows

Combine Coke and buttermilk and set aside. Beat butter at a low speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar until blended. Add egg and vanilla and beat at a low speed till blended. Combine flour, cocoa and soda. Add to butter mixture; begin and end with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended. Stir in marshmallows. Pour batter into a greased and floured 13 x 9 inch pan and bake at 350 for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cool 10 minutes. While cake is cooling prepare frosting.

Coca-Cola Frosting

Ingredients:

½ cup butter

1/3 cup Coca-Cola

3 tablespoons cocoa

1 16 ounce package powdered sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Bring first three ingredients to a boil in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring until butter melts. Remove from heat; whisk in sugar and vanilla. Pour frosting over warm cake; garnish with ¾ cup chopped pecans.

A little blog/blogger fact:

This is the second time Coke has made an appearance on my blog even though I think soda is liquid satin. In the pop war my preference is a fountain Pepsi - as a brand though, Coke is it.