7Up Cake

By Sam Sifton

7Up Cake
Ryan Liebe for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
1 hour 30 minutes, plus cooling
Rating
4(1,228)
Comments
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I love a clandestine soda in the preparation of food, a flash of carbonation where the French might use wine, or brandy. It may be transgressive to say so, but I’m hardly alone, for all those who cringe at the thought. Page through church or community cookbooks and you’ll find examples: Coke-spiked Jell-O situations, root beer-glazed fillets of salmon, beans simmered in Moxie. This recipe for a lemon-and-lime soda cake came to me a while back from a Times reader who thought I’d appreciate it (I did!). She said she’d gotten it from a grandmother down south, who stored it on an index card placed in her copy of the cookbook published by the Symphony League of Jackson, Miss., in 1971. The original called for oleo and Crisco oil. I swapped these out for dairy and neutral oil, and a little less soda, and an additional 15 minutes in the oven. This leaves the cake toast-brown and glistening, glossy-crumbed and high-risen, a marvelous moist yellow within. I’m no shill for Big Soda. You could just as easily make it with plain sparkling water and a spritz of lemon or lime. You could make it with sparkling wine!

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Ingredients

Yield:10 to 12 servings
  • 1cup/225 grams unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, plus additional for greasing
  • ½cup/120 milliliters vegetable, canola or other neutral oil
  • 3cups/600 grams granulated sugar
  • 5large eggs
  • 1teaspoon lemon extract
  • 1teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ½teaspoon almond extract
  • 1cup/235 milliliters 7Up
  • 3cups/385 grams all-purpose flour
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)

566 calories; 27 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 11 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 77 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 52 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 35 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 350.

  2. Step 2

    In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter, oil and sugar at medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, blending until incorporated, then blend in the lemon, vanilla and almond extracts. Add half the 7Up, blending until combined, then half the flour; repeat with the remaining 7Up, then the remaining flour until evenly blended.

  3. Step 3

    Grease a 10-inch Bundt pan with butter; add cake batter. Bake until golden on top and firm to the touch, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert onto serving platter, and let cool to room temperature before slicing and serving.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,228 user ratings
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Comments

Juliet Jones

Would this work with, say, two cups of sugar instead of three? Three cups of sugar AND the cup of 7-Up seems it would be way too sweet for a cake with the same amount (3 cups) of flour.

Susan B. A.

Made this with finely grated lemon zest first mixed with 1 cup sugar to transfer the essential oils to it - and 3/4 cup (6 oz) soda. Absolutely delicious! Didn't miss the other 1.25 cups of sugar at all. Never be afraid to try less sugar, since most modern recipes have too much to start. Next time though, I'll add a bit more salt and sub 1/4 cup almond flour for same amount of AP - for extra richness and moisture.

L.G.

Using just unmelted butter to prep the bundt pan may not work for the cake to come out neatly (and I have the same pan that the cake in the picture was baked in). Coating the inside of the pan as a bond-breaker makes a big difference. I use Baker's Joy and then add a light coating of almond flour, which works very well. There are other methods and a fuller explanation on the King Arthur Flour website which you can find by Googling "How to prevent bundt cakes from sticking".

Janky Jones

To all the people who automatically assume that a stated amount of sugar in a recipe is TOO MUCH, please understand that everything in the recipe is for a specific chemical reaction. Cutting the amount or subbing almond flour isn't the same recipe. Did it brown correctly after you eliminated the sugar? Probably not.

MJ

I'd forgotten about cake with 7Up - my mom used to make a strawberry 7Up cake that was a favorite as a kid. I'm going to have to ask for it now that I was reminded of it. Thanks for this!

Jason F.

Made it - totally unimpressed. Lots of ingredients and prep for very little payoff. Cooking time was way too long as well. I took it out after 1h05m and it was already burnt when I removed it from the pan - and yes, I use an oven thermometer!

Janky Jones

Was your pan too shallow? That would effect the bake.

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