Cola Chocolate Cake

It is my father's birthday tomorrow. I am going to decorate his cake in a Coca Cola theme, because my father has a Coca Cola collection of tins, lamps, etc. Although he is not a huge fan of the drink, he does like it. I decided since the cake is going to be decorated as a Coca Cola theme, I might as well make a Coca Cola flavored cake too. Actually, Cola Chocolate Cake is not unusual at all. From searching cookbooks and the internet, I have discovered there are two basic recipes for cola chocolate cake. One for a plain cola chocolate cake, and the other for a cola chocolate crater cake. The latter option contains miniature marshmallows that rise to the top of the batter and make little craters in the cake. I opted for the first option, since I plan to ice and decorate the cake, and we aren't huge marshmallow fans here, especially in our cakes.

Cola Chocolate Cake
1 cup butter
1/4 unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup coca cola carbonated beverage
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose (plain) flour
2 cups granulated (white) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, optional

Preheat oven to 350◦F. Grease a 9x13 inch rectangular cake pan, or two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
In a medium saucepan, bring the first four ingredients to a boil. Add the eggs and vanilla.
In a large bowl, combine the remaining dry ingredients. Add the liquid to the dry and mix (I used a handheld electric mixer to better combine all of the ingredients). Bake for about 30 minutes (mine took about 35 minutes), until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. This recipe is quicker and easier than my usual chocolate cake recipe. Hopefully it is tasty too.