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Chocolate Root Beer Soda Cake

5 from 20 votes
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Soda cakes are the BEST retro cake recipe around when it comes down to saving time. All you need is a box of cake mix and a can of soda pop – the combinations are limitless! This cake recipe uses a box of Devil’s Food Cake Mix and a can of root beer. Slather it with whipped cream and you have an easy dessert that your kids can make. ( and my kids did make this!)

Not only that, it tastes as delicious as a dessert recipe that took a lot longer to make!

a slice of chocolate soda cake on a white plate with a piece of red cherry on top
Soda Cake

Cake Mix and Soda

That’s literally all you need for this recipe, if you don’t want to ice it. We used Cool Whip whipping cream all over our cake, just to have that little something, so this is really just a three ingredient cake! It’s also not a cake that you can be fussy about, the crumb is exceptionally tender and will fall apart, as you can see from my photos. It’s not the least bit dry, simply tender and moist.

This is not a cake that you want to make that is supremely iced and fancy, however it does look very pretty with whipping cream and cherries on the outside. It just won’t slice perfectly, so don’t expect that! Try my new strawberry cake if you want a cake that has pretty slices!

Ingredients Needed:

  • one box devil’s food cake
  • one can of root beer soda
  • whipping cream or light icing

 

chocolate soda cake on a turquoise cake stand with a plate of chocolate cake below it on a red striped kitchen towel

Different Soda Cake Variations

There are so many combinations that you can make a soda cake with, it’s not even funny. Literally just pick a box of cake mix and see what soda pop goes with it! Some pairings you can try are:

  • Strawberry Shortcake – Strawberry Cake Mix and Cream Soda
  • Creamsicle – Orange Soda and White Cake Mix
  • Grape –  Grape soda with white cake mix – try my homemade grape soda cupcakes as well!
  • Ginger Cake– Ginger Spice cake and Ginger Ale
  • Lemon Cake– Lemon cake mix and lemon lime soda

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

  • This cake has a very tender crumb, so a heavy icing will simply tear it apart. You could even just use a vanilla icing glaze if desired.
  • Real whipping cream will deflate really quickly on this cake, so make it and eat it right away. Cool Whip tends to last a little bit longer.
  • IF you want to use a heavier frosting, freeze the cake, then frost the layers while it’s frozen. Works like a charm!

 

Don’t forget to try my famous buttercream frosting on your next cake as well, there’s a reason it’s famous!

Have fun guys! This is the perfect easy summertime cake recipe to try with the kids, they will LOVE picking out the combinations. Have fun and enjoy playing around with cake mixes!

Happy Baking!

Love,

Karlynn

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Soda cakes are the BEST retro cake recipe around when it comes down to saving time. All you need is a box of cake mix and a can of soda pop - the combinations are limitless!

 

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Chocolate Root Beer Soda Cake

Soda cakes are the BEST retro cake recipe around when it comes down to saving time. All you need is a box of cake mix and a can of soda pop - the combinations are limitless!
5 from 20 votes
a slice of chocolate soda cake on a white plate with a piece of red cherry on top
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
25 minutes
Course
Dessert
Cuisine
American
Servings
10
Calories
185
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 1 box chocolate cake mix
  • 1 can root beer soda

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease two 9 inch round cake pans and set aside
  • In large bowl attached to a stand mixer combine the cake mix and the root beer. Beat on low speed for 1 minute, then beat on medium speed 2 minutes.
  • Divide the batter betwen the two cake pans.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick or cake tester inserted in center of each cake comes out clean.
  • Cool the cakes in the pan for 5-10 minutes, then take a knife and run it around the edges to loosen it. Turn each cake out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely.
  • Frost with Cool Whip or your choice of frosting!
  • Top with cherries if desired for decoration.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 185kcal, Carbohydrates: 32g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 7g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 356mg, Potassium: 143mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 17g, Calcium: 65mg, Iron: 2mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

I’m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. kathy says

    very tasty but could use a little rootbeer extract . loved it5 stars

  2. Greg Gibson says

    Cake was good not sure what happened but had 2 round pans sprayed with no stick but when taken out to cool on rack and flipped over cake stuck on both bottoms. Used butter, cream cheese, vanilla and bakers cocoa for frosting with a cool whip topper. Will try again.5 stars

  3. Jillian says

    I wonder if a Gingerale cake would taste good. Hmmmm. Do I dare? This recipe is so cool and I want to try it but Gingerale is one of the only pop’s I drink! I will report back my findings.5 stars

  4. Curious George says

    Question for you. For your soda pop cake(s) do you add any of the ingredients asked for on the cake box eg. oil, eggs etc. or just the soda?

    • Sara says

      I was about to leave a comment asking the same thing!!

      • Karlynn says

        No it just says the cake mix and a can of soda that’s all you need!5 stars

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