This Coca Cola cake is a classic Southern dessert made easy — thanks to help from a box of cake mix! A homemade fudgy pecan and Coca Cola frosting coats each decadent slice of the moist and fluffy chocolate cake.
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From a classic one-bowl buttermilk chocolate cake to a chocolate Bundt cake with cake mix and a rich chocolate pound cake — you can never go wrong when you offer a chocolate cake for dessert! If you’re looking for an easy recipe to serve at your next Sunday supper, church potluck, or pig pickin’, then you have come to the right place. After all, everyone loves this coca cola chocolate cake (and it starts with a box of cake mix)!
Aunt Bee’s Easy Coca Cola Cake
This recipe comes from my great Aunt Bee — the most amazing home cook, surrogate-grandmother, and proper Southern lady and hostess that you will ever meet. I love that she shared her tried-and-true recipes with me on a regular basis, which she tucked inside old-fashioned handwritten notes.
Every time I found a letter in our mailbox with her distinctive handwriting on the outside (postmarked from North Carolina), I got a warm, happy feeling inside. I know that her thoughtful messages and her delicious food were waiting for me just on the other side of that paper envelope!
Best of all, Aunt Bee’s easy Coca Cola cake with cake mix doesn’t require any special baking skills or much time spent in the kitchen. It’s made without without buttermilk and without miniature marshmallows, requiring just a handful of very basic ingredients. I’ve shared this sweet treat at potlucks and picnics for over a decade now, and it’s always well received!
What is Coca Cola Cake? What does it taste like?
Coca Cola Cake is a classic dessert, often served at a pig pickin’ (or barbecue where a whole pig is roasted) in the Southern United States.
In recent years, Cracker Barrel restaurants have popularized the Coca Cola Cake with their own “Double Fudge” version.
The dessert tastes a lot like a traditional chocolate sheet cake, with a Coca Cola icing that resembles the rich chocolate glaze on a Texas Sheet Cake. The soda gives the cake an extra fluffy rise, while adding a bit of that delicious Coke flavor, too! Quick tip: if you’re looking for another festive cake that starts with a box of cake mix, don’t miss my grandmother’s rum cake recipe, too!
Ingredients
This is just a quick overview of the ingredients that go into Aunt Bee’s shortcut Coca Cola cake with cake mix. As always, specific measurements are included in the printable recipe box at the bottom of the post.
- Chocolate cake mix: any brand will work. You can use a classic chocolate cake mix, or try one that’s labeled “milk chocolate cake,” “dark chocolate cake,” “Devil’s Food cake,” or “chocolate fudge.” These are all great options.
- Eggs and oil: check your specific box of cake mix for the additional ingredients required to bake the cake. Instead of using water, however, you’ll substitute with an equal amount of Coca Cola.
- Coca Cola: for both the cake batter and the chocolate pecan frosting.
- Butter, unsweetened cocoa powder, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and chopped pecans: these ingredients come together (along with Coke) to make the pecan fudge frosting that enrobes the warm chocolate cake.
How to Make Coca Cola Cake with Cake Mix
This recipe for a coca-cola cake is about as easy as it gets — thanks to help from a boxed cake mix! I’ve included detailed directions in the recipe card below, but here’s the quick overview:
- Mix together the cake batter as instructed on the package directions; however, substitute Coca Cola for the water.
- Bake the cake in a 9 x 13-inch pan in the oven. You’ll know it’s done when a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- While the cake is still warm, prepare the Coca Cola frosting.
- Bring the butter, cocoa powder, and Coke to a boil. Remove from the heat.
- Whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla.
- Fold in the pecans.
- Pour the hot frosting mixture over the warm cake. The icing will firm up as it cools.
Serving Suggestions
Serve each slice of cake on its own with a cold glass of milk, a warm cup of coffee, or a mug of homemade hot chocolate. You might also like to top individual pieces of cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce, or sweet maraschino cherries.
Storage Tips
Cover the cake with plastic or foil (or transfer to an airtight container) and store at room temperature for up to 5 days. It does not need to be refrigerated; however, if your house is particularly warm or humid, the icing might get soft. In that case, you might prefer to keep it covered in the fridge.
To extend the life of your chocolate coke cake, you can wrap it tightly and freeze for up to 3 months.
Tips for the Best Coca Cola Cake Recipe
- Check your package of chocolate cake mix to be sure that you’re using the correct ingredients, since every brand differs slightly.
- Pour the frosting over a warm cake.
- Allow plenty of time for the cake to cool completely in the baking pan and for the icing to set before slicing and serving.
- I have not tested this recipe with Diet Coke, as the flavor will differ. If you give it a shot, please let us know!
- Swap out the Coke and use root beer instead.
- Serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce, and maraschino cherries for real treat!
More Recipes with Coca Cola
Crock Pot Coca Cola Chicken
2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Coke
8 hours hrs 55 minutes mins
Coca Cola Pork Chops
20 minutes mins
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Coca Cola Cake with Cake Mix
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 (15.25 ounce) box chocolate or Devil's Food cake mix, plus ingredients called for on the box
- 1 cup Coca Cola (or enough to replace the water called for on the package directions)
For the Coca Cola Frosting:
- ½ cup (1 stick) salted butter
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons Coca Cola
- 1 (16 ounce) box confectioners sugar, sifted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup finely chopped pecans
Instructions
Bake the Cake
- Bake the cake in a 9 x 13-inch pan according to package directions, BUT replace the water with an equal amount of Coca Cola.
- While the cake is still warm, prepare the Coca Cola Frosting.
Make the Coca Cola Frosting
- In a large saucepan, bring butter, cocoa powder, and Coca Cola to a boil, whisking regularly. Remove from heat and mix in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Fold in the pecans.
Ice the Cake
- Pour the hot icing over the warm cake. The icing will firm up and harden into a sweet shell over the cake as it cools.
Notes
- Check your package of chocolate cake mix to be sure that you’re using the correct ingredients, since every brand differs slightly.
- Pour the Coca Cola frosting over a warm cake.
- Allow plenty of time for the cake to cool completely in the baking pan and for the icing to set before slicing and serving.
- I have not tested this recipe with Diet Coke, as the flavor will differ. If you give it a shot, please let us know!
- Swap out the Coke and use root beer instead.
- Serve each slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of chocolate sauce, and maraschino cherries for real treat!
Nutrition
This post was originally published in May, 2016. It was updated in November, 2023.
This cake is DELICIOUS!!! I look forward to making it again!
Thank you so much, Rachel! We’re glad you enjoyed it.
Yimmy. Moist
Thank you Patricia! We’re so glad you enjoyed it.