Cheerwine Cake

 

If you are from the south or ever visited the South then you have heard of the iconic Southern soda, Cheerwine.  If you are a Southerner and have moved away, like we once did, then you beg and plead for friends and family members to send you Cheerwine.  There is just something about it that we love! 

When I was little I had the fortune to spend my summers at my Grandparent's house in the mountains of North Carolina.  That is where I was first introduced to this insanely simple yet incredibly delicious Cheerwine Cake!  After that summer I begged my Grandmother to make this cake for me again and again.  After she passed, I had to keep the tradition going and now my daughter I get to make it for my daughter. 

 



 

Ingredients:

1 box of Devil's Food cake mix

1 tsp. almond extract

1 cup of Cheerwine (which will replace the water called for in the cake mix)

Oil and eggs (read the back of the back to find out how much you need)

Frosting:

1/3 cup Cheerwine

1/2 cup of butter

1/4 cup cocoa

2 1/2 to 3 cups of powdered sugar

1/4 tsp. almond extract

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

 

Follow the directions on the back of the box and cook the cake according to the box.  Make sure you substitute the Cheerwine in place of the water and add the almond extract.  Couldn't be easier!

 

Now to make the frosting!  You can do this while the cake is cooking. 

1.  Melt the butter in a sauce pan.  When the butter is melted add the Cheerwine and cocoa, heat together until the mixture comes to a boil.

2.  Pour the mixture over the powdered sugar and blend with an electric mixer until smooth. 

3.  Stir in almond extract.

4.  Cool completely and spread over cool cake.  (I put my frosting in the refrigerator to cool while the cake was baking and cooling.  Then when I was ready to use the frosting I ran it through the mixer again.  If you are using nuts this might be a good time to add them to the frosting, or sprinkle them over the top of the cake.)