Copycat Cracker Barrel 40th Anniversary Double Fudge Cola Cake

Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 12
• 1 (12 ounce) can coke, divided
• 1 cup unsalted butter, divided, at room temp (2 sticks, each 4 ounces)
• 1 (1 ounce) square semisweet chocolate
• 1 cup miniature marshmallow (measure these by volume, not weight)
• 1/2 cup butter flavor crisco
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup 2% low-fat milk
• 3 tablespoons dry buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/3 cups white lily all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder, divided
• 1/4 cup chocolate syrup (i used fox's u-bet)
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Recipe

• 1 arrange oven racks to that there is room for a 9x13" sized baking pan to fit on the top rack, allowing for room for the cake to grow; preheat oven to 350°f.
• 2 grease and flour a 9x13" baking pan with deep sides.
• 3 measure out just 1 cup of the coke, setting the rest aside to use later in the recipe.
• 4 place the measured coke, just 1 stick of the butter, and the square of chocolate in a saucepan; heat, stirring often, until melted and mixture is boiling.
• 5 stir in the marshmallows, lowering the heat a bit if needed, and continue to stir until the mixture is fully melted and combined together; set this mixture aside to cool a bit.
• 6 in a large mixing bowl, combine shortening, oil, and only 2 tsp of the vanilla; add the granulated sugar and mix well.
• 7 add both eggs and the milk and beat well, using an electric mixer.
• 8 in another mixing bowl, combine buttermilk powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt; sift in the flour; measure out just 3/4 cup of the cocoa powder and sift this into the flour mixture, stirring all of these dry ingredients together to blend.
• 9 add half of the flour mixture to the shortening mixture, beating until smooth.
• 10 slowly add some of the partially cooled fudge mixture, beating well.; continue adding slowly and mixing it in carefully so you don't scramble the eggs in the batter; once all of the fudge mixture has been added, be sure to beat the mixture well.
• 11 add in the remaining flour mixture and beat for 4 minutes exactly, using a timer; mixture should now be a thick and creamy batter.
• 12 pour batter into the prepared pan and bake about 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake tests clean.
• 13 take your toothpick and poke holes all over the surface of the cake.
• 14 allow to cool long enough to still be somewhat warm, but not so hot that the icing will melt instantly when placed the cake.
• 15 take the remaining 1 stick of butter, the remaining 1 tsp vanilla, the remaining 1/2 cup cocoa powder, and the chocolate syrup and mix together in a small bowl.
• 16 add in about 1/3 cup of the remaining coke.
• 17 add in the powdered sugar and blend well; it should be the consistency of hot fudge sauce - very thick, but not firm, but also not runny; if you need to add a bit more coke or powdered sugar to adjust the icing to your liking, now is the time.
• 18 pour the fudge icing evenly over the still warm cake, then allow to set for a while - the icing will ooze into the toothpick holes a bit and firm up slightly on the surface (although it will still be a quite gooey topping).
• 19 serve cake still slightly warm or at room temperature, with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream on the side if desired.