Cherry Cola Cake — The Recipe I’ll Teach Before I Teach the Cobbler

Shanice Carter came to Sunday dinner last week. CJ drove her down from Huntsville—her first time in the Forestdale house, her first time sitting at the Simms table, her first Sunday dinner—and she arrived at noon with a peach cobbler she had made, which I found both admirable and slightly concerning, because bringing a dessert to a woman's kitchen requires confidence and correct execution and incorrect execution would have been remembered. I am a fair woman. I am also Bernice Simms's daughter.

The cobbler was good. Not my cobbler—different in the spices, lighter on the nutmeg, with a biscuit-top crust rather than my butter-pastry style—but good. It was a good cobbler made with care by a woman who was trying and who succeeded. I told her so and she looked relieved in a way that told me she had been worried and had worried about it for days, which is the right level of concern for someone walking into a kitchen like mine. I said, "Baby, yours is good. Come to my Saturday class and I'll make it better." She said, "Mrs. Simms, I would love that." I said, "Good. Call me Mother Simms." She did.

She is quiet in the way that good observers are quiet—she watches before she speaks, she listens before she responds, and when she does speak it is accurate and kind. She taught Sunday school in Decatur for four years. She has her mother's hands, which I noticed when she passed the cornbread. She told me her grandmother had been a church cook in Decatur, which is either coincidence or God being economical with the symbolism. I am choosing to believe the latter. Another church kitchen grandmother. Another church kitchen granddaughter. Another generation of women who know what the stove is for. Welcome, Shanice. Welcome to this table. It was made for you.

I told Shanice to come to my Saturday class, and I meant it — but a cobbler is not where I start with a new student. A cobbler is where you end up, after you’ve learned how a batter breathes and how a fruit filling talks to heat. Where I start is this Cherry Cola Cake, which was my mother Bernice’s proof that a church kitchen has no use for pretension — only for good butter, good timing, and something that feeds a crowd without fussing. Shanice earned her place at this table by arriving with care and leaving with “Mother Simms” on her lips. This cake is what I’ll put in her hands next Saturday, and it will tell me everything I need to know.

Cherry Cola Cake

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 16

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 cup cherry cola
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows
• 1 cup maraschino cherries, drained and halved
• For the frosting:
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup cherry cola
• 3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan and set aside.
2. Combine dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt until well combined.
3. Make the cola mixture. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter, cherry cola, and cocoa powder. Stir and bring just to a boil, then remove from heat immediately.
4. Combine wet and dry. Pour the hot cola mixture over the flour mixture and stir until smooth. Add the beaten eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract and mix until fully incorporated.
5. Fold in the add-ins. Gently fold in the marshmallows and maraschino cherries. The marshmallows will begin to melt slightly — this is exactly right.
6. Bake. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30–35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
7. Make the frosting. While the cake cools, combine the butter, cherry cola, and cocoa powder in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle boil, stirring, then remove from heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and glossy. Stir in pecans if using.
8. Frost and serve. Pour the warm frosting over the slightly warm cake, spreading evenly to the edges. Allow to set for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve from the pan — this is a church kitchen cake and it was never meant for a pedestal.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 480 | Protein: 4g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 78g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 210mg