Chocolate Cherry-Coca-Cola Cake

I just purchased Paula Deen's Special Collector's Holiday Baking Magazine and there are so many great Fall and Winter recipes that I am dying to try. After Summer, Fall is my next favorite season. I love going to our local cider mill called Uncle John's Cider Mill and eating warm doughnuts and drinking cider....mmmm the thought of it is making me so very happy! I love the leaves changing colors and the crisp smell of the cool air and carving pumpkins and eating caramel apples and I love all the fabulous fall and halloween treats that I will be making and eating! I can't wait! What is your favorite season?

But, back to this Cherry-Coca-Cola Cake, this recipe was in her magazine and I have been wanting to make a Texas Sheet Cake for a while and I hadn't gotten around to it. This recipe caught my eye because it seemed to closely resemble a Texas Sheet Cake, only it was a little bit different because of the added Coke in it. So, I decided to give this recipe a try and instead of using regular Coca-Cola I used a Cherry flavored Coca-Cola. The cake turned out to be really tasty and it basically tasted just like a Texas Sheet Cake, the Cherry Coke flavor did not stand out in the cake or the frosting, but thats okay because it was still delicious. The cake was very moist and tender and it melted in your mouth. It had a very mild chocolate flavor and the cake itself was not overly sweet. The frosting is my favorite part, it is very sweet which complements the cake very well and it is almost produces a  fudge-like texture since the warm frosting gets poured all over the hot cake. Some of the frosting soaks into the cake a bit which gives you the very moist cake. This cake almost produces three layers; the fudge-like frosting, then a layer of a very moist and gooey-er second layer, and then the bottom cake layer. I even think this cake even tasted better on the second day! Give it a try and I guaruntee you won't be disappointed!

Chocolate Cherry-Coca-Cola Cake: (Paula Deen, adapted by me)

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-2 cups sugar

-1 teaspoon baking soda

-1/4 teaspoon salt

-1 cup butter

-1 cup Cherry Coca Cola

-1/2 cup buttermilk

-1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

-2 large eggs

-1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cherry-Coca-Cola Frosting (recipe follows)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13x9-inch baking pan with nonstick baking spray and dust with flour.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

3. In a medium bowl saucepan, combine butter, Coca-Cola, buttermilk, and cocoa. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and add to flour mixture, whisking until smooth. Add eggs and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Spoon batter into prepared pan; bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Pour Cherry-Coca-Cola Frosting over hot cake. Let cool at least 30 minutes before serving.

Cherry-Coca-Cola Frosting:

-1/2 cup butter

-1/2 cup Cherry-Coca-Cola

-1/4 cup unsweetened coca powder

-4 cups confectioner's sugar

1. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, Cola, and cocoa to a boil over medium heat, whisking constantly. Remove from heat, and gradually add confectioner's sugar, whisking until smooth.