The Dr. Pepper Cake

If you knew my brother, you would know that if asked what his beverage of choice is, he would passionately answer, “Dr. Pepper!” He is the king of Dr. Pepper, and last week was his birthday. As I am considered the baker of my family, the responsibility/pleasure to bake a cake fell on me. I wanted to try a new recipe, but I didn’t want it to be a flop (in his opinion) as many of the new recipes I have tried lately have been. He’s never rude when he rejects the delicious item (a.k.a. Chocolate-Covered High Hats – perhaps a future topic). He just says “Not my favorite.”, and doesn’t opt for cupcake #2. Well, it was his birthday, and that response just wasn’t an option.
The perfect combination of 23 flavors is what makes Dr. Pepper so unique. The drink was invented in Waco, TX by a druggist who couldn’t ignore how delicious the air smelled when filled with the scents of various flavored syrups used to make the fountain drinks of the day. He supposedly named the drink after his former employer who had a daughter with whom he was in love with.
“But how to transform this delightful beverage into a cake”, I pondered. I was greatly assisted by my latest cookbook by the name of Sky High, a gift from my older sister. This book had a recipe for a chocolate cola cake that called for cherry cola or, you guessed it, Dr. Pepper! In the past month I have whipped up this recipe twice. The first time I frosted it with a German Chocolate style, toasted coconut-pecan frosting suggested by the cookbook. This last time I knew I needed a true classic frosting with a butter/powdered sugar base. It is really the only kind of frosting acceptable to my dear brother.
So I took the Classic Buttercream recipe from the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and I made it mine. Or should I say, I made it Dr. Pepper’s? I won’t go into all the details, so as not to give a new signature recipe away, but I will say that I replaced some of the liquid with the drink itself. To counteract a possibly funky color, I used a smidgen of cocoa powder. That’s right, a smidgen. Aside from a gentle dusting of cocoa over the top of the cake, I used two other secret ingredients that cannot be divulged at this time.
I must admit, the cake was a success. I’m hoping for an excuse to make it again soon.