Mason-Dixon Recipes

Easy Bake Soda Cake

I ordered a soda - caffeine-free, low sodium, no artificial flavors. They brought me a glass of water.

         — Robert E. Murray

The following cakes are not regional in nature, but as someone who is always trying to find shortcuts to unique culinary dishes, the use of soda in cakes appealed to me. It also led me down a path to learn more about the history of soda other than coke comes from Atlanta, Georgia.

The history of soda pop—also known colloquially in different regions of the United States as soda, pop, coke, soft drinks, or carbonated beverages—dates back to the 1700s. Carbonated beverages in the form of beer and champagne had been around for centuries prior to this, but non-alcoholic carbonated drinks didn't arrive until the 17th century.

The first drinkable man-made glass of carbonated water was invented in the 1760s when the carbonation technique was first developed and refined. Though, I guess you can say the honor for the first commercially available carbonated drink belongs to Jacob Schweppe, who began selling seltzer in Geneva, Switzerland in 1769. It's amazing that Schweppes is still around.

No one knows when or by whom flavorings and sweeteners were first added to seltzer, but by the 1830s, flavored syrups made from berries and fruit had been developed. Ginger ale was created in Ireland in 1851 and root beer was produced and perfected in Mississippi during 1876 for public consumption. In 1885, Charles Alderton invented Dr. Pepper in Waco, Texas. However, the game-changer came in 1886 when J.S. Pemberton used a combination of kola-nut from Africa and cocaine from South America to create the iconic Coca-Cola.

Competition for Coca-Cola come in 1898 when Caleb Bradham invented Pepsi-Cola. From there the soft drink industry expanded rapidly, to the detriment of our health. It tool almost half century for the medical profession to see the ill effects of carbonated sodas. In 1942 the American Medical Association recommended Americans limit their intake of added sugar in diets and specifically mentioned soft drinks, but it wasn't until a decade later that the industry responded. In 1952, the first diet soft drink—a ginger ale called "No-Cal Beverage" produced by Kirsch—was sold.

The soft drinks used in the cakes below represent a cross-section of the industry today. When added to different kinds of cake mixes, they make an easy bake alternative to the more complex cake mixes. They do tend to be a bit crumbly, so adding an egg's binding power helps. I've included trade names, but of course, any brand can be used.

INGREDIENTS

Creamsicle Cake

1 pkg yellow cake mix
1 12-oz can Sunkist orange soda

Strawberry Shortcake

1 pkg strawberry cake mix
1 12-oz can A&W root beer

Very Cherry Chip Cake

1 pkg cherry chip cake mix
1 12-oz can Dr. Pepper cherry soda

Zesty Lemonaide Cake

1 pkg lemon cake mix
1 12-oz can Sprite soda

Purple Cow Cake

1 pkg vanilla cake mix
1 12-oz can Crush grape soda

Ginger Spice Cake

1 pkg spice cake mix
1 12-oz can Schweppes ginger ale soda

Sinless Devil's Food Cake

1 pkg devil's food cake mix
1 12-oz can Diet Coke soda

Chocolate Root Beer Float Cake

1 pkg chocolate cake mix
1 12-oz can Barq's root beer soda


DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to temperature specified on the cake mix box. Then grease a cake pan with cooking spray or line muffin cups with paper liners.

In a large bowl, beat together the cake mix and soda for two minutes, either by hand or with an electric mixer. Pour the batter into the cake pan(s) or divide the batter evenly among the cupcake cups. Follow the directions on the cake mix box for the proper cooking time.

Once the cake is cool, top with your favorite canned frosting or try the buttercream icing in this recipe book. It takes more effort, but the results are much better.

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