This Sprite Cake is easy to make and so light and delicious! This cake is made from scratch but is as easy as using a cake mix!
Grandma’s Sprite Cake Recipe
This Sprite Cake recipe seems to be in every Grandma’s recipe box. I’m not sure where it originated but it seems to be a Southern thing (the southern US, that is).
There are numerous recipes for desserts with soda in them.
Or do you call it Pop? Or the generalized ‘Coke’ for all soft drinks?
That is a debate for another day! For today, we focus on using carbonated beverages in cake!
I have seen recipes for Coca-Cola cake and a Dr. Pepper Cake, both of which are chocolate cakes that use carbonation as a part of the leavening for the cake.
Another soda-leavened cake that I have seen often is made with the Mexican soda Jarritos, which has flavors like guava, pineapple, and mandarin. This one takes me back to my childhood days in Southern California!
But this beautiful Bundt Cake is made with the lemon-lime soda of your choice. Sprite, 7-Up, Sierra Mist – take your pick!
We don’t normally keep any kind of soda in the house unless we know people are coming over.
When my friend Bianca shared her Grandma’s recipe for 7-Up or Sprite Cake with me and several other friends, we all decided to make it and share the results.
I actually had to make a special trip to the store to get some Sprite and I am so glad that I did!
When I researched this cake a bit online, there seem to be two variations.
Sprite Cake Made with Cake Mix
One variation is made with nothing more than a cake mix and a 12 ounce can of your choice of soda.
I will admit that I tried this version because I was curious.
The cake box Sprite cake ends up being very light in texture. I enjoyed the texture but I also thought that this cake was light in flavor. The lemon-lime flavor was not very pronounced at all.
You could use a lemon cake mix and you could also add a bit of lemon zest or extract to up the flavor.
But the texture was too light for me. I wanted a cake that was a bit richer.
Sprite Cake Made from scratch
Making a cake with Sprite seems to be a pretty common practice and all of the recipes seem to be very similar.
I get the feeling that this is one of those recipes that was on the back of 7-Up or Sprite can and literally EVERYONE wrote it down!
It has been shared and shared and made time and again! And for good reason!
Sprite Cake from scratch was so much better than the one made from a box mix!
The texture is beautiful! Not too dense but firm enough to hold up. There is plenty of flavor thanks to the soda, extract and all that amazing butter!
And it is sooooo easy to make!
The biggest tip when making this recipe is to make sure that you cream the butter and the sugar for a good 4 to 5 minutes. Skipping or skimping on this step will result in a denser and less aerated cake. The flavor will be there but the texture will be too dense.
TOP TIP
The biggest trick when making this recipe is to make sure that you cream the butter and the sugar for a good 4 to 5 minutes. Skipping or skimping on this step will result in a denser and less aerated cake. The flavor will be there but the texture will be too dense.
Sprite or 7-Up?
The type of lemon-lime soda will not matter at all when you make this cake. Just use whatever you have on hand or pick up some of your favorite lemon-lime soda and whip up this cake!
Any clear lemon-lime soda will do here. Even generic brands work just fine.
Ingredients needed for this recipe
The ingredients that you will need to make this cake are simple. You will need:
- Butter – The butter should be at room temperature, about 70 degrees F. You should be able to push your finger into the butter to make a dent but the butter should not be greasy. If the butter is too warm, it will not cream properly with the sugar.
- Sugar – Granulated sugar or caster sugar
- Eggs – The eggs should be at room temperature. If the eggs are cold, they will cause the room temperature butter to seize or curdle. Adding the eggs one at a time will allow the eggs to incorporate without losing the aeration from the creaming step.
- Flour – All-purpose flour is the best choice for this cake. Make sure not to overmix after adding the dry ingredients as this will create gluten strands that make the cake tough.
- Lemon Flavor Extract – This is one of the few occasions that I use an extract. I would normally just use lemon zest and juice but I wanted to test with just extract for those days that I don’t have any lemons on hand.
- Lemon-Lime Soda – Sprite, 7-Up, or any other brand of lemon-lime soda.
- Powdered Sugar – This gives the perfect finish to this cake, especially if you make it in a bundt pan! Instant decoration!
A stand mixer is helpful because you really do want to whip up the butter and sugar for quite a while. A handheld mixer will work just fine too if you don’t have a stand mixer!
What pan to use to make Sprite Cake
This cake looks absolutely beautiful when made in a bundt pan so that is my pan of choice.
You can also make this Sprite Cake Recipe in a 9×13 pan, two 8 or 9 inch round pans or even in two 9×5 loaf tins.
The pan that you choose is really up to you and how you intend to serve the cake.
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Other Cake Recipes To Try
Ginger, Honey, and Orange Mini Bundt Cakes
Banana Cake with Brown Butter Buttercream
Easy Sprite Cake
Equipment
- Stand or Hand Mixer
- Bundt Pan, 9×13 pan, or 2 Loaf Pans
Ingredients
- 340 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 600 grams granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 375 grams all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla or lemon extract
- 175 mL Sprite or 7-Up
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar sifted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F/162C. Generously grease and flour your pan. This cake works well in bundt pans and loaf pans.
- Cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl until very light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the extract.
- Add 1/3 of the flour and mix briefly. Add 1/2 of the Sprite and mix until incorporated. Add another 1/3 of the flour, mix, add the remaining Sprite, mix, and then add the last of the flour and mix until incorporated. Do not overmix!
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 325F/162C for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes (time depends on size and type of pan.). The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean and the cake springs back when gently poked.
- Allow to cool completely then dust generously with powdered sugar and serve!
Nutrition
