Full Recipe Thursday--Coca-Cola Cake

Anyone who knows me fairly well knows that pretty much the only soda I drink is Coke. What they may not know is I'm kinda a Coca-Cola nut. The only glasses I have in my house are Coca-Cola glasses (in three different types), I have loads of different bottles, hell I even have a Coke can Christmas tree ornament. I don't, however, use it alot in cooking (and using Diet Coke is an absolute no-no in cooking...heating it just makes it really bitter, so no substituting here). I have two recipes that I use it in and both are great. One is Coca-Cola chicken, the other is Coca-Cola cake which is really simple and is really great tasting. Kinda has a spice cake mixed with chocolate cake. Goes AMAZING with some vanilla bean ice cream.

Ingredients

Cake
2c All-purpose flour (doesn't have to be weighed, but give your flour a good stir before measuring)
1c Sugar
2 Sticks butter (don't use margarine, it's evil)
3tbls Cocoa powder
1c Coca-Cola
1/2c Buttermilk (ok to use the milk and lemon juice trick here)
2 eggs
1tsp Baking soda
1tsp Vanilla extract (if you can avoid it, use the real stuff...imitation is made from wood pulp)
1 1/2c Mini marshmallows

Frosting
1 Stick butter
3tbls Cocoa powder
7tbls Coca-Cola
1lb Confectioners' sugar

Procedure

Pre-heat your oven to 350° and grease a 9"x13" pan. Start by sifting the flour and sugar into your mixing bowl along with the the marshmallows (use the paddle attachment). Stir them to combine.

In a saucepan (don't use too small of one, this one expands quite a bit), combine the butter, cocoa powder, and Coke over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Start your mixer on slow and then pour in the hot mixture aiming for the side of the bowl. Mix just until combined, then add the eggs (beaten with a fork first), vanilla, and the buttermilk after having the baking soda just mixed in. Mix until combined. Pour into pan and then bake 30 to 35 minutes. Use the "toothpick comes out clean" method to determine doneness. When it is close to being done, prepare the frosting since it needs to be put on while the cake is hot. Combine everything except the sugar in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour it in your mixing bowl (that was cleaned first) and dump the sugar in. Use the whisk attachment and start very slowly, but then pick up speed up to the highest setting to get a little air into it. Whip at high for about a minute. Once the cake comes out, let sit for 5 minutes to allow it to set a bit then dump the frosting on top and spread. Let it cool for at least an hour before cutting into it. ENJOY!