Grandma's Recipe Box: Dr Pepper Cake

As you may notice on recipe card, my Grandma credits this moist chocolate cake to Mrs. Kennedy.  She also notes the cake tastes great without frosting, but you can top with the chocolate frosting she lists at bottom of card.  Different recipe ideas are at end of post.

Dr. Pepper Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups brown sugar

1/2 cup margarine (softened)

3 eggs (beaten)

2 squares of baker's chocolate (melted)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups sifted flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup Dr. Pepper

1 cup chopped nuts 

Steps:

1. Prepare greased & floured tube pan or oblong (9x13) glass dish. Preheat oven 350 degrees. 
2. Cream together brown sugar and margarine (in large bowl.) 
3. Add eggs, chocolate, and vanilla to above.
4. (In another bowl,) sift together flour and baking powder.
5. Add dry ingredients into creamed sugar mixture alternately with Dr. Pepper. Add nuts.
6. Bake in tube pan for about an hour or glass dish until done.
7. Allow to cool before serving or frosting.

Chocolate Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cocoa

1/2 stick margarine 

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sugar

Steps: 

1. Boil ingredients until a small count dropped into cold water remains solid.
2. (Optional) Add 1/2 cup chopped nuts.
3. Spread onto top of cake, and sides if tube cake.

There are multiple versions of this chocolate cake using a the popular bottled soda on the internet, including some from cake mix, as a brownie-type sheet cake, a layer cake, and using a whole can of soda.  There are also easy versions with cherries added instead of nuts, which include dump and poke versions.