How To Make A Cake With Soda Pop

Amy Cipolla Barnes has over 25 years of freelance writing experience, with focuses on food, family, travel, and lifestyle. She's also a recipe developer and tester and was a 2020 cookbook judge for the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP).

You know that boxed cake mix you're saving in case of midnight cake cravings or a last-minute birthday party? Go ahead and pour the mix into a bowl. But wait, do you have eggs and oil? No? Good news: You don't need them!

While that may sound like an odd combination, depression-era cake mix manufacturers created their mixes with simplicity and economization at heart. The cake mixes contained all the dry ingredients of a scratch-made cake, including a rising element. Adding a can of soda activates the mix’s dry leavening agents.

Lemon Cake (no Baking Powder, No Baking Soda)

Even if you aren't using the box's instructions for eggs and oil, you still need to follow the basic instructions: Preheat your oven. Grease your pan(s) or cupcake tins, or add muffin papers.

Then, in a large bowl, mix the cake mix and soda for about one minute, or until well combined. The dry ingredients need the can of soda to activate them, and if the soda loses its fizziness through overmixing, your cake may not rise as much as expected.

Pour the batter into the pan(s), or divide the batter evenly in cupcake tins. Follow the directions on the box mix for cooking times.

Soda Pop Cake Recipe

Instead of combining dry cake mix with soda all at once, try a technique similar to pasta making: Create a well in the cake mix, and pour in the soda. Hand mixing may keep the batter lighter.

Any full-size (12 ounces) can of soda, carbonated, or sparkling water will work. How you combine the soda and cake mix creates a rainbow of flavor and color options.

The simplest combination is to combine any cake mix with a clear soda or carbonated water, maintaining the original cake mix color and flavoring. Beyond that, the combinations are endless.

Strawberry Cream Soda Cake

In our chart below, we've included some basic options and some innovative ones, as well as creative twists on Southern staples. Plus, we offer ways to enhance a two-ingredient cake, like adding poke cake ingredients or complimentary frostings. We know that technically makes it more than a two-ingredient cake, but it’s cake, so extra is allowed.

While many of the benefits of this dessert are fairly obvious—easy prep, shelf-stable ingredients, and cost savings—there are other great things about a two-ingredient cake: Because you aren’t using eggs, you cut down on potential allergy exposure. Without eggs or butter, you also may be baking a vegan or plant-based cake (check the ingredients label).

For the kids, focus on the fun factor of using a can of soda to activate dry ingredients. Make it into a science discussion with kids. What are leavening ingredients? Why does the soda activate them?

Cake Mix Ideas — Use Soda To Make Moist Cake

Check the box’s ingredient list to make sure there are no allergens or non-vegan items included if you're looking to make an egg-free or vegan cake.

It depends. If you’re making a vanilla cake mix with strawberry Fanta, the taste will be different than a traditionally-prepared vanilla cake. But a lemon cake mix with lemon soda? You might not notice too much of a flavor difference.

A boxed cake prepared with a can of soda instead of eggs will potentially have a slightly different texture depending on your altitude, mixing level, and other factors; expect it to be a little denser.

Ingredient Dr. Pepper Cake

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Easy Soda Cupcakes