We Made Faith Hill’s Coca-Cola Cake and We Will Sing Its Praises

Faith Hill has talents that go beyond the stage. She also happens to know a thing or two about whipping up a decadent sweet treat. She shared her version of a classic Southern-style cocoa-cola cake with Ina Garten and even revealed that this recipe is husband Tim McGraw’s favorite cake.

It has become a staple in their house and is what he always requests as his birthday cake. We decided to give it a try for ourselves to see if this cake is worthy of a standing ovation.

How to Make Faith Hill’s Coca-Cola Cake

Kristina Vänni for Taste of Home

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, plus more for the pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup Coca-Cola
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

For the icing:

• One 16-ounce package confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons Coca-Cola
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Step 1: Make the batter

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 13×9-inch baking pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar and baking soda. Set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the butter, cocoa powder and Coca-Cola until boiling. Pour this over the flour mixture and mix well. Add the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract, and mix well. Stir in the miniature marshmallows.

Step 2: Bake

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Toward the end of the baking time, get the icing ingredients assembled and ready to prepare. The icing must be used on the cake immediately after it comes out of the oven.

Step 3: Make the icing

Place the confectioners’ sugar in a large bowl and set aside.

In a saucepan, combine the butter, Coca-Cola, cocoa powder and vanilla extract and bring to a boil. Pour this hot mixture over the confectioners’ sugar in the bowl and mix well.

Step 4: Frost

Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack. Using a long skewer, poke several holes across the surface of the cake. Immediately pour the hot icing over the hot cake. Spread evenly over the surface. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Here’s What We Thought

Kristina Vänni for Taste of Home

Before baking the cake, we were glad to have read the reviews on the Food Network page, because it seems that the written recipe on the website differed a bit from the process that was aired on the TV show. Once we watched the episode and tweaked the recipe directions accordingly, Faith Hill’s Coca-Cola cake was a huge hit.

We liked that her version differed in ever so slight ways from the classic version. She likes to stir the marshmallows into the cake batter and allow them to float up to the surface of the cake, rather than sprinkle them on top of the batter (here are our fave marshmallows, by the way). This allows the marshmallows to melt and incorporate in the top layer of the cake (is your mouth watering yet?). Also, she doesn’t add nuts to the frosting like you often see with Coca-Cola cakes. This gave the cake more of a glossy ganache finish rather than the textured surface of classic Coke cake. She also suggests poking a few holes in the cake before pouring on the warm icing. This allows just a bit of the sweet frosting to seep down into the cake and soften it a bit.

As if we need a reason to love any chocolate cake, this recipe stands out as one of the easiest homemade sheet cakes out there. It is a great recipe for cooking with kids because it can all be done by hand, and you don’t even need a mixer. As a bonus, the butter in both the cake and the icing is melted on the stovetop, so there’s no need to wait around for the butter to soften before starting to cook.