When our twin daughters were born, we were living in a different city, away from family. Even with the generous and loving community we had developed, there were still times when I felt lonely and a bit like a pioneer on the frontier of some wild and savage land. My husband’s work schedule kept him busy as he paid the bills for all those diapers, which meant that most of the time I was solely in charge of those tiny lives who depended upon me for everything.
In the first few weeks, we had help from our visiting moms. First, my mom stayed for a week, then my mother-in-law. By the third week of that very hot June, my husband’s grandmother came to stay with us. One of her granddaughters drove her to our house and came back to retrieve her at the end of the week. Memaw, that’s what we called this precious soul, brought with her a 13x9 metal pan filled to the brim with chocolate cake slathered with a layer of chocolate frosting. It’s called “Coca-Cola Cake,” and I’ve included the recipe, because the world would be a happier place if everyone ate a piece of this moist cake with its thick frosting and mini-marshmallows dissolved into the batter. I’m not saying sharing slices of the cake would ensure world peace, but it’s worth a try.
My husband and I ate all of Memaw’s cake the week that she visited us, so she went out and bought more ingredients to make another one to leave for us when she went back home. I told her we could bake the cake in a different pan, but she insisted on leaving the pan with us, saying that she had plenty more. I still have the pan with its matching lid. Both are warped from age and use, but I can’t part with the set.
When I look at that pan, I think of a grandmother’s love. I think of how Memaw was so concerned with our daughters’ tiny toes, that they were cold without socks and a heavy blanket. (Believe me…No one was complaining of being cold. Summers in Memphis can be sweltering.) I also think of how we make do with tough situations. The origin of the Coca-Cola cake is disputed, but it’s mostly assumed that women used carbonated beverages in their recipes due to sugar rationing during the war, or maybe it was because sugary soda makes the cake light and airy without adding a lot of leavening. Either way, who doesn’t love a creative way to make desserts taste better?
The sweet sequel to our family’s connection to this cake came in May, when I made several dozen cupcakes using Memaw’s recipe for the wedding reception of one of our daughters, the owner of ten of those tiny toes she had been so worried over all those years ago. That’s the beauty of family recipes, passed down to future generations. They don’t just nourish stomachs and delight taste buds. They also tell stories.
Photo by Rachael Shannon Photography
COCA-COLA CAKE
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
¾ cup butter
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 cup Coke
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ cup buttermilk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups mini-marshmallows
Sift sugar and flour together. Boil butter, cocoa, and Coke. Let cool slightly, then pour over flour/sugar mixture. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk and add to bowl. Add eggs, vanilla, and marshmallows. Pour into greased 13x9 pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
Icing:
½ cup butter
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
6 Tablespoons Coke
3-4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
Bring butter, cocoa, and Coke to boil. Add vanilla and 3 cups powdered sugar and mix with mixer. Add more powdered sugar until the icing stiffens just until it’s less runny. Pour over cake in pan while icing is still warm.
Photo by Rachael Shannon Photography
