I conquered one of my fears Wednesday. A fear that was so great it prevented me from seeing many delicious possibilities. A fear that I didn’t have the genes that are so evident in my paternal grandmother’s hand with biscuits, pies, cakes, and homemade doughnuts. The fear that I had not inherited a baking gene. Something I thought would forever have me going to bakeries to purchase what I was sure I could not make at home.

But friends, I baked a cake.

And no, it didn’t have the words Duncan Hines or Pillsbury on the box. Heck, it didn’t even come out of the box. I made it all from scratch using a bevy of ingredients, each singular and whole.

Oh, the frosting! The frosting was homemade too! It went so well that it gives me the confidence to try other baking techniques.

I must admit, though, that this recipe seemed fairly easy-peasy even for a beginner like myself. I am going to go slow, but I will conquer this fear. I haven’t quite decided what baked good is on my agenda next, but I am eyeing pizza dough or breads pretty intently. Meanwhile, shouldn’t you bake a cake too?

Coca-Cola Cake

from “Great Cooks of the South Entertain Southern Style” by the AJC

Cake ingredients:

2 cups granulated sugar

2 cups AP flour

1 1/2 cups mini-marshmallows

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine

1/2 vegetable oil

3 tbl. unsweetened cocoa

1 cup Coca-Cola

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Frosting ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

3 tbl. unsweetened cocoa

6 tbl. Coca-Cola

1 16 oz. box confectioners’ sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Making the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, sift together sugar and flour. Add marshmallows. In saucepan, mix butter, oil, cocoa and cola. Bring to a boil and pour over dry ingredients; blend well. Dissolve baking soda in buttermilk just before adding to batter along with eggs and vanilla extract, mixing well. Pour into a well-greased 9×13 inch pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. (I started checking it after 30.) Remove from oven and frost immediately.

Making the frosting:

Combine butter, cocoa, and cola in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and pour over confectioners’ sugar, blending well. Add vanilla extract and pecans (if using). Spread over hot cake. When cool, cut into squares and serve.