I went for something a little easier after last week’s colorful cake casualty. This one is an enhanced box mix recipe and uses Sprite and pudding mix to pump it up. You know… there must be something wrong with the universe when a box mix cake comes out better than one I made from scratch. But I won’t complain too much because it was really good and oh so moist inside. See……
Yield: one 9-inch layer cake
Simple Sprite Cake
Prep Time
30 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes
Additional Time
15 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 15 minutes
Ingredients
Sprite Cake
- 1 white cake mix
- 4 eggs
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 box instant vanilla pudding (3 oz. size)
- 8 oz. can of Sprite (the mini one)
Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1b. confectioners' sugar
- 1-3 teaspoons milk, half and half or cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Grease and flour two 9 inch cake pans.
- Mix ingredients on low until combined and then increase speed to medium and mix for about 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into pans and bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Frosting: Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla with until smooth. Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more. If you want it a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture.
Notes
Make it simple all the way and tear open a can of vanilla ready-made frosting… (don't worry I won't tell) or you can use this really easy frosting recipe:
In process of making this recipe now, I can tell from the smell of the cake that’s its going to be a winner. I did buy store bought icing. Will make it from scratch next time. You are awesome bakerella! You continue not to lead us wrong with your recipes.
This cake was amazing… I made it for my son’s 12th birthday, and it was a huge hit at his party… one of boys said ‘Now THAT’s a cake!!”.. so thanks so much. I wrote a post about it on my blog…
whoops must have been on the wrong cake recipe
super cute how the picture turns into a cake. can you do that with my dreams
Can you mix all the ingredients by hand? I’m planning on making cupcakes out of this for my baby shower next weekend and love sprite so finding this was very exciting :)
I am so happy to see Duncan Hines. That is the only cake I have found to be super moist!! Thats all I bake with! oh and I am in love with your site!!
Delicious!! I used this recipe as cupcakes for my son’s 2nd birthday party, but used strawberry cake mix and strawberry soda. I topped it with a home made cream cheese frosting. It was a hit!!
if i used lemon pudding instead, do you think it’d taste good?
I’m getting ready to make this cake for the third time in two weeks. We love it!
That is MOIST!!!
hello miss bakerella..this cake looks soo good. but what if dont have a white cake mix. it isnt available in my country, could you suggest anything that i can use? please help.. :D
I use pistachio pudding and 7-Up for this! We call it “WaterGate cake”! Use dreamwhip and another bit of the pudding for the icing… It’s wonderful!
i just want to say that u have changed my life in a way, each time i feel down i open up your page get a recipe and when i get it right i feel so much better. I am even thinking of opening my own bakery and u are my muse. Thanks for all your ideas u have helped me in so many ways i mean it!
I don’t know if this is coming a little to late, but for all of you who were wondering what the 1 lb 10x meant, is what you know as ‘una libra, aproximadamente 2 kilos’, but my box says 453 grams, so you should be looking for something similar (azucar en polvo, para espolvorear, etc.).
Hello from Mexico, could you tell me if i can make it without the pudding, because they don’t sell it here, and if it’s spongy the cake? Thanks for the blog, you are really awesome
1 1b. 10X powdered sugar –> I don’t know how much is it. It’s not common in my country.
can you make it in grams or ounce?
Thank’s a lot before^^
I made this yesterday for a birthday party, only I substituted lemon pudding for vanilla. It was absolutely fantastic! It turned out very moist and a little dense in a very good way. Thanks for the recipe!
WOW! The cake is amaaaaaaaaazing!
I just pulled it out of the oven. I doubled the recipe to make 2 rounds and a 3 qt. bundt. So easy, super moist, can’t go wrong.
your cake looks so good!
i made this in my home ec. class. it probably wasn’t as good as your recipe though bakerella.
Hi bakerella!
I´m from Argentina (faaar faar away) and we use different measures here so I´m having a hard time trying to figurte out what yo mean with 1 1b. 10X powdered sugar. What´s does the 1b. stand for? and the 10X?
I just made your buttercream frosting – wow! I’ve never been a buttercream fan…well, not really even a big fan of frostings, but this was spectacular! I’m with everyone else who hates canned frosting….yuck. Thank you so much for sharing all your wonderful recipes!
Yumm!!! I just baked these cupcakes for our twins first bday today. I don’t think I want to ice them…they’re so yummy all by itself! (Plus, the batter was sooooo good!) Thanks for sharing! :)
A Simple Box cake Mix and any kind of soda works as well – I mean just those two ingredients – comes out pretty good.
I’ve made chocolate fudge cake mix with a 12 oz can of diet coke – mix and bake per instructions – great for low cal sub
Do you think this would bake up nicely for cupcakes too? I’m in charge of baking cupcakes for a baby shower next weekend and I’m looking for something different. This might be it!
because your adding pudding mix to the cake mix, should you use a cake mix that does not include pudding in it?
by the way- I LOVE YOUR BLOG! I read it all the time and am itching to try something new. :)
I just made this, and it seemed to turn out well. But then I realized just now (a couple hours later) that I forgot the oil! Eek! Will that harm my cake too much? :(
my boyfriend is OBSESSED with sprite…and its his birthday next week…so glad i saw this!
Follow-up….. it turned out really well!! Delicious! :-)
Bakerella,
I found your site through a friend who was raving about your cake pops and I have to say “yay!!!”… I am very glad I found this; right now, I am experimenting with a twist on this… A spice cake mix, butterscotch pudding and ginger ale. Half the recipe is in muffin tins and half in a loaf pan. I will let you know how they turn out (I have this disease passed on from my Mom… I can’t leave a recipe alone… have to put my own twist on it!) :-)
Thanks for your wonderful ideas!
I absolutely LOVE your website! My mother-in-law sent me your link about 6 months ago and I’ve been passing it along to all of my friends. I’m taking my first Wilton Cake Decorating course and tomorrow night is my final class. I modified your recipe above since I have food allergies. I have to eat gluten-free, so I used a GF cake mix with sprite. Since it’s fall and I’ve been filling every room of my house with fall scented candles, I opted for pumpkin instead of vanilla pudding. :)
I’ll let you know how it turns out! Thanks for sharing all of your cute ideas with us!
I made this last night for a moms night in with some friends and the loved it!
Everyone commented on the fluffiness and moistness of the cake!
They said to say "thanks Bakerella, for making us feel inferior to Sarah's baking ability. Again."
This cake is super moist ! I substituted banana flavor pudding and it came out so yummy. My kids loved it:)
Thanks so much !!
babyg – lucky!
Liz – instant.
sadlersgirl – I think you’ll like it.
Found this looking for a cake without butter or milk for my nephew’s first bday! Can’t wait to try it out. Cooking it today!
I wanted to make this but couln’t remember if it was instant or non-instant. The only 3oz kind I saw was the non-instant so I got that. Think that will matter? If I put off making this any longer my husband will rampage! :)
My grandmother always used to make this cake for us when we came and visited, and glazed it with something delicious that we haven’t been able to replicate!
Yum yum!
Melaina25 – Thanks for the tip. Hope it works well!
For those in the UK substitute “Angel Delight” for pudding mix. I’ve done this before with a different recipe and am trying it with the sprite cake tonight :)
It really is easy and oh so moist. I think I need to make it again soon. Glad it was such a hit.
I took this cake to our halloween event and every single person loved it and wanted the recipe :)
I think this is the best cake for teenagers to make
Did you use the homemade buttercream or a canned kind?
The cake was tasty, but the frosting didn’t cover the cake well and was VERY buttery, almost too rich.
Sorry it came out messy for you, but so glad it was still good.
I have been looking at this recipe for a while and finally tried it. it was a science experiment! As I checked on it while it was baking it acted normal until the last 10 minutes it bubbled and looked like it was never going to fully bake. In the end it did I just have to cut off the top cuz it was too sticky. It was rich and totally moist. I dont know how yours turned out so pretty, mine was very messy.. but still good
girl fisher – bet it was good. and I love lemon!
Made this for a pool party! It was great! I baked it in a bundt pan. I microwaved a can of lemon icing for 30 seconds, let it cool and then drizzled it on top. Everyone loved it!
Thanks chelsea – I’ve done that with coke and a cake mix, but this one is so much moister.
I know I’m a bit late on this one, so I don’t know if anyone’s mentioned this but as a college student I know that one box of cake mix and one regular can of Sprite = a cake, without anything else. so if it’s 3 in the morning and you need a sugar kick to last through the night… BINGO! also a nice study break to mix it up :]
Sara – That’s awesome. Glad it was a hit for you.
Made this for my fiance’s birthday party this past weekend and it was a TOTAL HIT. People were all really excited to go home and try it themselves. I even linked your recipe to my blog so that others could try. Yum!
Sounds like it’s time for chocolate coke cake!
Hello Bakerella!
I’m always looking forward to your new goodies. I tried this recipe but did the chocolate version. One devil’s food cake with the chocolate instant pudding and used coco cola instead of the sprite… the coke wasn’t that gassy…because we had opened it before. But it came out great. I ended up using it for cake balls. Crumbled, addedd 5 tablespoons of Kahlua and about 1/2 cup of buttercream… and YUM! Thanks!
amy – I can appreciate that. It will be even better with homemade frosting.
I can’t wait to try this recipe but I detest canned frosting and think if someone can successfully make and bake a cake they can at least mix up a few ingredients to make homemade buttercream! Canned frosting is just so nasty. I cannot imagine anyone really wanting to eat that stuff especially if they take a minute to read over the ingredients on the label.
just tastes good and moist. You can’t taste the sprite.
this looks really good,
but this is also my first time looking at a cake made with sprite as an ingredient!
does it taste sprite-tious or what? (:
jazzy – I like Duncan Hines.
andie – that’s impressive and lemon sounds yummy!
it was sooo good!! i put a lemon frosting on it and my husband even ate it and he doesn’t like cake!!! thank you!
bakerella,
I am planning on making this cake over the weekend. If I wanted to take the easy way out and buy canned icing is their one you would recommend?
No, just a play on words :)
Does it really taste fizzy? :P I’m going to try this on Friday!
Ingrid – I’m so glad this was a hit for you. And good luck with the experimenting.
Oh, MY GOODNESS, YES!!!!! This recipe is diffinitely a KEEPER!
Bakerella, I did as you suggested and they (cake & cupcakes)came out TERRIFIC! We ate the cupcakes with out frosting they were that GOOD. I’m gonna be famous for this cake. Ha-ha!
No one has mentioned the frosting but I/we thought it was “out of this world” as well, another keeper recipe! Because we ate most of the cupcakes without frosting we ate the left over frosting without cake! I don’t know if it made a difference but I used Mexican Vanilla.
I’ll be making this over and over. I’m also going to try different combinations of ingredients, ie. cake mix, pudding, soda, and see what happens.
Thanks so much!
Ingrid
Gina – I’m glad you and your four year old loved them. I’ll be making these again too.
Oh. My. Gracious! I made this today for our church group tonight (rather than for my husband’s birthday in a couple of weeks…I couldn’t wait). I thought I had a box of vanilla pudding but it was white chocolate – still – YUMMY. Tender, moist…oh. my. gracious. I made cupcakes (the 2″ baking cups – so not regular-size and not minis) baked them for 11 minutes. Let them cool and we ate ’em without frosting!
I think my 4 y/o said it best, “Mommy, I can’t stop thinking about eating those cupcakes.” I can’t either, Katherine. I can’t either. :)
This is definitely a “to be done again and again” in my book!
farmerjulie – good and you’re welcome.
lfamily5 – and it’s simple.
Ingrid – just watch the time, because it will probably be different. And make some cupcakes with the leftover. And thanks for the link.
andie – let me know how you like it.
BMoreSweet – that makes me feel better. And I agree with your reasoning. Good luck with the 200 pops.
Sandy’s Place I definitely have to find that one. Thanks.
alex2emily4 – Oh, you’re welcome!
I made this for my grad. party and everyone loved it. Very moist and light. It was way easy, too. Thanks!
I love making cakes with DH cake mix and pudding. They turn out so moist. I have a 3 ring binder of cake mix recipes. You can even add alcohol. I especially like the black russian cake…. DH has a cookbook out on cake mix recipes.
My co-worker and I are both pretty fair home bakers, so to have fun at work one day we each baked a pan of brownies and brought them in for an office-wide taste test comparison. As a “control” for this experiment I also baked a pan of brownies from a box mix.
The box mix won.
We were devastated.
Our conclusion (because we couldn’t bring ourselves to believe that we weren’t better bakers than the box mix!!): people have certain expectations when it comes to familiar foods, like brownies; and since most everyone has had brownies from a mix, but not everyone has had homemade from scratch brownies, people expect the taste to be more like the mix.
I haven’t made Sprite cake in years but this one really has me salivating…. THANKS, Cakerella! I am making 200 cupcake pops for a party tomorrow, based on your recipe and demo with Martha!
i am thinking of making this today…i’ve been craving it since you posted it
Hello!
I am going to make this tomorrow but as a two layered 6″ cake. It’s for my brother’s engagement party. Any suggestions, helpful hints?
Also, I hope you don’t mind but I put you on my blog list. I also linked this recipe. I haven’t found any of my camera’s but when I do and post some photos please come check me out and let me know what you think.
Thanks!!!!
Ingrid
Another mouth watering cake from you….it looks soooo yummmy! I can’t wait to try it!
Yummy! I am going to do it!! Thank YOU!
Lisa B. in so cal – I really loved reading your comment. Tell you DH I’m glad he like them.
arundati – thank you
Tracey in WA – I know, once people taste them, they are on everyone’s wish list.
Shephalli it’s never too late to jump in. I’ll come and visit.
Lara – it just makes it moist. I only used fizz to tie in since sodas are fizzy.
Custom Cakes by Brenda – sounds like a winner.
Azrael – hope you do and greetings from Georgia
Anonymous – me too. I haven’t tried this one as cupcakes, but it should work fine.
I am in search for a good white cupcake recipe? Any Ideas? Do you think this recipe would work as a good moist cupcake? I just tried adding sour cream to a boxed cake, and it was just OK?!?! thanks bakerella, your awesome!
WAH … that cake looks so soft. Have to try it!
Greetings from Germany, Azrael!
I highly suggest that you try it with Rootbeer! Yummy! Make a rootbeer glaze to go with it. My kids (and hubby) love it!
So, does the Sprite actually do something to the texture? I’m trying to figure out how fizz translates into baked goods LOL! This looks tasty :)
Hi Bakerella,
I know i am a late blogger but i got inspired from you and created a blog as well. Check it out at http//www.shephalli.blogspot.com. Let me know what you think. PS: make sure to scroll down to the bottom!
-Shephalli
I have also made this cake with a regular size can of Diet Sprite and cake mix only … kind of a low cal/no cholestrel version and it comes out FABULOUS!!!
Just got through making Cupcake Pops for my daughters end of school snacks. The entire class requested them, even the teacher … you have created a monster, but a fun one :)
ok. so i just discovered your fabulous blog a fews days ago and alls I can say is, I’m hooked!!! i love to bake. have since i can remember. found the AMAZINGLY wonderfully decadent peanut butter fudge cake with peanut butter cups right in time for Father’s Day. i ran out got all the ingredients and made cupcakes instead of the layer cake. i must say, they were a HUGE success!!! i asked my darling husband (and best critic) how they were on a scale from 1-10 and he said “A 7!”. I was shocked at first…but then he said “for taste a 10! for moist cake a 10! for size a 5! they just need to be BIGGER!!” I think he ate 4 or 5 cupcakes and downed a tall glass of cold milk in record time! wish you could have seen my 3 little kids….they had chocolate cupcake smeared from ear to ear…should have taken a picture and posted it! too cute. these cupcakes were going as fast as they were coming out of the oven, frosted and covered in more peanut butter cups!! i am rambling on here. soooo…very sorry…just so excited and wanted to THANK YOU for a “keeper” of a recipe!!! it will be added to my “file”. i am sure it will be pulled out and used often. As my 9 year old said, “mom, you’ve got to make these for my class (school)!!!” i will be sending many thank yous to you quite often here….i plan on making this FIZZY cake soon…but unfortunately right now the oven can’t go on…it’s simply way too hot out. DARN. Thanks again…and i promise all my thank yous will not be this LONG! ;) Lisa B in so. cal.
Ingrid – thanks!
Josephine Milkweed – It sounds like you do knwo me well. I certainly like things mini.
Brandi – go right ahead.
Anonymous – I would think so.
scmom (Barbara) – Sounds like a good combo to try. Thanks
Try that recipe with a yellow cake, a lemon pudding and a Mountain dew. I’m a total cake snob but I have to admit it’s darn good.
Will this recipe work well for a 9×13 cake pan? I keep forgetting my dang password!
Hi Bakerella!
My friend forwarded me the “cake ball” recipe from your blog. I can’t wait to try them! :) Also, I just recently became a “blogger” and wanted to see if I could add your blog address to my page (www.biteswithbrandi.blogspot.com). Just let me know. Thanks for the awesome recipes!
Hi Bakerella: That cake does look yum-o. My from-scratch recipes never turn out as good as the box either. I appreciate your super extreme close up. You have a lot of fun taking pictures it seems. And, I don’t know you well, but for some reason I am not surprised that you would have those mini cans of pop at your house. They are little and cute like….cupcake pops!
Johanna,
I believe that the soda replaces the water or milk not the oil. Read Bakerella’s recipe, it still called for oil. Good luck!
Ingrid
Johanna – I don’t know how it will come out, but here’s one you can try:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,186,158166-246199,00.html
i hate boxed cake mix! i think that they taste awful, but i’m wondering if you could still add the soda to a from scratch cake? replace the milk or oil?
morgana – don’t cry.
Deanne – sorry you can’t find either.
JillyRae – I’m sure you could
Ingrid – good luck!
Patricia Scarpin – it was really moist.
jennie w. – good to know. thanks.
Toni – he should love this then.
Ingrid – Yep. you could try other soda combinations.
Delaina – defintely.
the big cheese – I would think so.
Shephalli – well, i hope you do, then.
Sarah – thanks.
The Gomes Family – I like simple, too!
Mischa – thanks
Gina – you’re welcome
addy – that’s cute.
cakesbyjess – Will do jess.
Melanie – you’ll like it I think.
Eowyn – no. but it sounds interesting.
Jeana – I’ve done that too – with diet coke. But i have to say, this one was better
Looks amazing! You cam also make cakes just using the cake mix and 1 can (12 oz) of any kind of soda. No eggs or oil or anything. It comes out kind of dense but still really yummy and minus a lot of fat.
I’ll definintely try this. Have you tried the lemonade scones? (I think Americans call them biscuits).
That looks so yummy! I am always searching for ways to jazz up cake mix. I will definitely try this soon.
Your pictures always look so yummy!!! I have heard of making cake with soda, but haven’t tried it yet. You have inspired me to try it. :) Keep the wonderful blogs coming!
Ever since I made your cake balls (http://www.longwindedandproud.com/2008/04/cake-balls.html) I’ve been religiously reading your blog, keeping extra boxes of cake mix at my house, and baking at least once a week! I am super excited to go home and try this recipe! Thanks for all of your fabulous posts!
have all the stuff for that in my cabinet and fridge! I think I may do this for DH’s birthday. Yummy! Thanks for the super easy idea!
Yum! What a great idea! I love it!
I love your blog and the more simple the better for me. I think you and this blog are amazing!
beautiful…this cake looks delicious.
Hi Bakerella,
Finally something easy that even I can make! I love your blog (Have i said it enough times yet?!!)
Do you think it would still work with sugar free pudding mix?
I’ll make these today! My four year old will get a kick out of putting soda in the cake mix.
In reading though the recipe and blog(not just looking at the pix) I realized that I have made something similar. They were cupcakes using strawberry soda. It’s been a couple of years so I don’t remember the exact recipe but I think the premise is the same?
Don’t feel bad. Even the god himself, Alton Brown, admits that box cakes are often better than from scratch. I do my cookies and frostings from scratch, but always bake cakes from a box.
I have a friend allergic to caffeine, and therefore chocolate, so I’ll have to show him this recipe, especially since he loves Sprite.
i’ve also tried this with Mountain Dew. So good!
I have made a cake with Coke, but haven’t tried it with Sprite. It looks so tender!
AHHHHHHH, RIGHT! Now this is what I’m talking about…something nice and easy! right up my alley.
Looks yummy but everything you make looks delicious. I made your peanut butter cake for Father’s day and had some issues BUT it did taste wonderful (I don’t even like chocolate just peanut butter cups) even though it didn’t look as pretty as yours.
I’ve got all the stuff except the Sprite so I’m off to the store at lunch time!
Thanks!
I just love it when you post!
Could I make these into cupcakes? They look so good..nice and light.
Thanks again : )
snap – looks gorgeous, i can get the sprite but what cake mix!! and vanilla pudding!!! whats that lol xx
OMG! It looks sooooooooooo yummy… Why can’t we find these products easily in my country? I think I’m gonna cry. ;-)