Cracker Barrel 40th Anniversary Double Fudge Coca-Cola Cake
Shortly before the holidays, I conducted a poll asking which Cracker Barrel recipe you wanted me to recreate. The winner was their Double Fudge Cola Cake. Many online versions differ from the restaurant's, so I adapted a recipe for accuracy. My version is moist, sweet, and springy, with a fudgy, glossy icing—similar to a chocolate glazed donut icing but thicker. It's even better than the restaurant's!
Shortly before the holidays, I conducted a poll asking which Cracker Barrel recipe you wanted me to recreate. The winner was their Double Fudge Cola Cake. Many online versions differ from the restaurant's, so I adapted a recipe for accuracy. My version is moist, sweet, and springy, with a fudgy, glossy icing—similar to a chocolate glazed donut icing but thicker. It's even better than the restaurant's!
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup miniature marshmallows
- 1 ounce semisweet chocolate
- 1/4 cup chocolate syrup
- 12 ounce coke or other cola, divided
- 1 cup unsalted butter divided at room temperature
- 1/2 cup canola oil or sunflower oil
- 3 tsp vanilla extract divided
- 2 cups granulated white sugar or caster sugar
- 3 tbsp powdered buttermilk*
- 2 1/3 cups white lily all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder divided
- 2 cups powdered sugar or icing sugar
- Carbohydrate 656.643295526933 g
- Cholesterol 1883.69685846697 mg
- Fat 585.140904461674 g
- Fiber 3.74678848860145 g
- Protein 42.6214759672537 g
- Saturated Fat 284.79838085196 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Recipe (2142g)
- Sodium 1917.63855194555 mg
- Sugar 652.896507038332 g
- Trans Fat 34.9133576202522 g
- Calories 7906 calories
Step-by-step
- Before you begin, open your oven and arrange the baking racks so that one of them is set near the top, making sure there is plenty of room on that top shelf for your pan and for the cake to rise a bit. Normally cakes are baked in the center of the oven, but not this one. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9x13" rectangular sheet cake pan. You will also need a small saucepan, a whisk, an electric mixer, and 3 mixing bowls.
- Measure out just 1 cup of Coke and just 1 stick of the butter and place along with the square of semisweet chocolate into a small saucepan. Set the remaining cola aside for now, and place the other stick of butter in a medium mixing bowl, setting it aside to come to room temperature.
- Meanwhile, bring the mixture in your saucepan to a boil, stirring with a whisk or slotted spoon often. As soon as it boils, add the mini marshmallows, stir to coat, lowering the heat a bit to prevent a boil-over. Continue to stir until everything has fully melted and blended together, and there are no longer any white streaks remaining from the marshmallows. It should look shiny and wet, like unset fudge. Set this fudge mixture aside to cool a bit (I let mine sit for about 5 minutes, then poured it into a plastic bowl and popped it into the fridge for about another 5 minutes while I continued with the next step).
- In a large mixing bowl combine the shortening, oil, and just 2 tsp of the vanilla. Add the granulated sugar and mix well. Add in both eggs and the milk and beat well, using an electric mixer, until light and fluffy. Scrape any batter that is creeping up the sides of the bowl with a spatula, as needed.
- In yet another mixing bowl (last one I promise!), combine the buttermilk powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set a mesh strainer/sieve over the top of the bowl and add the flour, shaking the strainer so that the flour sifts down into the bowl. If you happen to have a flour sifter, you can use that instead, but a mesh strainer works just fine. Measure out just 3/4 cup of the unsweetened cocoa powder and sift that through the sieve as well. Remove the sieve and give the mixture a quick stir.
- Add half of the flour mixture into the shortening & egg mixture, beating until smooth.
- Remember your fudge mixture you have cooling? Give that a quick stir and then add just a bit of it to the shortening mixture and beat well. Continue adding the fudge in small amounts until all of it has been beaten in and well combined. The reason you are adding it slowly is to prevent the still somewhat warm mixture from scrambling your eggs.
- Add the other half of the flour mixture now, mixing until combined and then for another 4 minutes. Set a timer. You are trying to incorporate air into your batter, so no skimping on the time here. Your batter should be thick and smooth.
- Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan and pop it into the preheated 350 F oven to bake on the TOP rack. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick poked into the center of the cake comes out with no streaks on it. Do not overbake! Set the cake onto a cooling rack to cool somewhat. You will still want it to be a bit warm when you add the fudge icing, but wait long enough for it to no longer be so very hot that your icing just melts completely upon contact. Before you walk away, take your toothpick and poke a bunch of holes all over the surface of the cake.
- Remember the bowl with the stick of butter in it from way back in the beginning? By now it should be nice and soft. Go grab the rest of that can of coke and measure out about 1/3 cup. Add that to the butter, along with 1 tsp vanilla, and the remaining 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder. Add the chocolate syrup and mix well until everything is smooth. Now add in 1 cup of the powdered sugar and blend well, then add the remaining 1 cup powdered sugar. The icing should be shiny, smooth, and a bit gloopy, not stiff. It should not be watery, but more like the consistency of thick hot fudge sauce. If it is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar, or if it seems a bit too dry, add a little more cola.
- Pour this entire mixture over the warm cake and spread evenly. Allow this to sit long enough to set up a bit, about 20-30 minutes, roughly. Some of the fudgy icing will ooze into your toothpick holes and you need to give it time to do that. The surface will also take on a sheen and harden ever so slightly. Serve with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on the side while the cake is still a little warm, if desired.
- *NOTE: If you don't have buttermilk powder, you may instead use 3/4 cup buttermilk instead of the milk and buttermilk powder. Or, you can make a buttermilk substitute by placing 2 tsp. lemon juice into a measuring cup, then adding enough milk to fill 3/4 cup, and then allowing that to sit for 5 minutes to thicken. You will not need to make any adjustments to the dry ingredients.
Why does this particular batter demand a spot on the top oven rack rather than the center? Baking sheets and pans positioned high in the cavity utilize radiant heat differently, ensuring the dense, cola-infused crumb rises evenly without developing a heavy, sodden bottom crust. Carbonated beverages in baked goods introduce dissolved carbon dioxide gas, which expands rapidly when exposed to oven heat. Retaining this lift requires precise handling of the chemical leaveners and fats.
Managing Heat and Aeration
Incorporating the boiled fudge mixture requires careful temperature control to avoid curdling the eggs; cooling the chocolate base slightly before adding it to the creamed shortening prevents thermal shock. Sifting the cocoa powder and flour together aerates the dry ingredients, counteracting the heavy weight of the dark chocolate solids. Beating the batter for a full four minutes after the final flour addition develops the necessary gluten structure to trap the expanding gas bubbles securely.
- Ensure the butter for the icing is truly softened to room temperature so it emulsifies smoothly with the cocoa and cola without splitting.
- Poking holes into the warm cake creates capillary channels, allowing the glossy glaze to penetrate deep into the crumb rather than sitting entirely on the surface.
- Allow the glazed cake to rest undisturbed for twenty minutes to let the icing achieve its characteristic slightly firm exterior sheen.
