Celebrate dads, grads and everything in between with the

ultimate comfort food

KAREN WIGHT

Twenty years ago, I ran across a recipe for the perfect chocolate

cake. It was included in an article that ran in the Los Angeles Times

food section on comfort food. In the description of the cake, the

writer quoted Phyllis George, former Miss America and First Lady of

Kentucky. George claimed that she gained 50 pounds eating this cake

when she was pregnant with her first child.

Think about it: a woman who had spent much of her adult life in

the spotlight finds a creation so tempting that she sits in the

kitchen and eats an entire cake with a spoon. I thought if a cake

could tempt a Miss America to gain that much weight, it was worth a

try.

The recipe came from her cook on staff. When I first read the

ingredients I hesitated; there is nothing nutritionally redeeming

about this cake. Nothing. In fact, I didn’t have most of the required

ingredients in my kitchen: Coke, buttermilk, marshmallows. Any Coke

that wanders into my fridge is diet. Buttermilk is never something I

would buy unless to cook with, and mini marshmallows are not a

staple.

I first made the cake for Father’s Day 1984. I have made it for

almost 20 Father’s Days since. It is always the most requested

component. And since it is such a hit with my own family, I’ve spread

the wealth with friends on special occasions.

One of my favorite cake-sharing stories confirms the belief that

this cake is worthy of a major splurge and somehow, with Phyllis

George as inspiration, remains linked to women and babies. I

delivered a dinner to a friend after the birth of her fourth child.

The dinner included part of a Coca-Cola cake, which I intended for

the kids’ dessert. The cake was still warm when I took dinner over. I

got a call an hour later asking me if I had any more cake; she had

eaten it all -- solo. No sharing, no qualms, no regrets. Who says

mothers always feed their young before themselves?

When it comes to chocolate cake, it’s every man, woman and child

for themselves. Whether you make this cake for a dad, for a grad or

just because sometimes in life you need to eat dessert first, enjoy.

Coca-Cola Cake from the kitchen of Phyllis George, reprinted by

the Los Angeles Times:

1 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa

1 cup Coca-Cola

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

Heat the butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola until the mixture boils. Add

flour, sugar and baking soda. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, vanilla and

marshmallows. Prepare cake pans with butter and flour. Bake at 350

degrees for 30 - 35 minutes.

Frosting:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup cocoa

6 tablespoons Coca-Cola

1 cup mini marshmallows

1 lb. powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup nuts

Heat butter, cocoa and Coca-Cola until mixture boils. Add

marshmallows and stir until melted. Beat in powdered sugar and

vanilla until smooth; then add nuts. Spread frosting over warm cake.

* KAREN WIGHT is a Newport Beach resident. Her column runs

Thursdays.