This looks so good! I may make a Coke cake for my birthday coming up. (It won't be nearly as pretty though.)

Cherry Coke is one of the things that helped me get through last years particularly strenuous school year of developing and teaching and overloaded schedule of college courses coupled with wedding planning. It also is one of the first things I turn to when I feel a migraine beginning (something about the caffeine, plus the sugar, plus the bubbles). But I try not to become too attached to it and currently I try to save it for "special occasions." Though, finding a restaurant with fountain cherry coke (or better yet, coke with grenadine) is a "special occasion" all its' own.

Cherry Coke Cake
makes two 8" cake layers (or approximately 24 cupcakes)
(note: if you want to make this cake more than 2 layers, I suggest portioning the cake batter into multiple pans & adjusting the baking time. I'm not sure these cake layers would torte very well...)

8 oz Unsalted Butter, plus additional for preparing the pan
0.60 oz Cocoa Powder
12 oz Cherry Coke (1 can)
11.30 oz AP Flour, plus additional for preparing the pan
11 oz Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 tsp Fine Grain Sea Salt
2 eggs
8 fl oz Buttermilk
1 tsp Cola Syrup (optional)
1 tsp Grenadine
.
1. In a heavy sauce pan, heat the butter, cocoa powder and cherry coke until the butter melts & the mixture simmers. Set aside to cool.

2. Prepare two 8" cake pans by buttering them (I like to use the leftover butter wrappers from step 1), lining the bottom with a circle of parchment, and flouring the pans. Preheat oven to 350 F.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the AP flour, sugar, soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the eggs and buttermilk. Once the butter/cocoa/coke mixture cools, add the optional cola syrup & grenadine.

4. In the dry ingredient bowl, make a well in the center of the ingredients. Pour in the cherry coke mixture & whisk to combine. Add the buttermilk/egg mixture & stir everything together until just incorporated.

5. Evenly divide the batter between the two cake pans & bake for 35 minutes (or until a cake tester comes out clean). Cool on a rack.

Cherry Coke Soaking Syrup
12 oz Cherry Coke
Grenadine
Coke Syrup

1. Pour the soda into a sauce pan, heat over medium high heat & allow it to reduce by half. Don't forget about it or you'll have quite the mess!
2. Cool completely. Add additional grenadine & coke syrup to taste.

Cherry Coke Icing
adapted from the Tasty Kitchen
2.7 oz AP Flour
8 fl oz Milk
8 fl oz Cherry Coke
16 oz butter, softened but still cool
14 oz Granulated sugar (NOT confectioners)
4 oz Grenadine (plus more to taste)

1. In a saucepan, whisk the flour together with the milk and cherry coke. Cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it thickens. The mixture should resemble thick gravy. Remove from the heat and cool to room temperature.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the sugar and butter on high speed until the sugar dissolves and the mixture lightens in color and increases in volume. This process does take a while, so have patience!
3. Add the completely cooled milk/flour/coke mixture to the creamed butter. Beat until it resembles whipped cream. The mixture may look curdled, but keep beating! Add the grenadine.
4. Taste the icing & determine if it has enough cherry flavor for your liking. If it doesn't, add additional grenadine.
5. Reserve at room temperature until ready to assemble the cake.