Recipe for classic Mountain Dew cake follows article and classic commercial video!
The History of Mountain Dew
I wasn’t allowed to have many soft drinks when I was a kid. So when I had the chance, I would get a Mountain Dew and linger over its syrupy bite.
It was the perfect complement to a Moon Pie or a Nutty Buddy ice cream cone.
It’s had quite a history of ticklin’ innards!
The original formula was invented in the 1940s in Marion, Virginia. It was first sold in Johnson City and Knoxville, Tennessee in 1948.
Unlike most light colored soft drinks, Mountain Dew is heavily caffeinated.
The name Mountain Dew was first trademarked by two brothers, Barney and Ally Hartman, who ran a bottling plant in Knoxville.
As you can see below, Ol’ Hilbilly went back to Day One!
Originally used as a mixer with whisky, it was a far cry from what it has become today.
Today’s flavor was created in late 1950s
Today’s flavor is credited to Bill Bridgforth, who joined the company in 1958.
The original bottle looked like bootlegged hooch, made in mountain stills.
It was decorated with hillbillies and outhouses, and pseudo-facts like “Filled by Ed and Gene.”
“Charlie and Bill” proudly filled our own classic bottle, as shown to the right.
Pepsi bought Mountain Dew in 1964, and its appeal then became nationwide.
Over time, the Dew was promoted around the world, but the U.S. has remained its stronghold.
Where else would most people want a soft drink made by a barefoot hillbilly with a pig as an assistant?
Classic commercials
Check out this early TV commercial –
Mountain Dew’s days of celebrating outhouses and hillbillies are sadly past, with a younger and hipper target consumer.
The packaging and advertising have changed to appeal to fun-seeking, wild, outdoorsy teenagers…who could somehow still metabolize all of that sugar and caffeine.
Recipe ideas –
There are several cocktail recipes floating around that still use Mountain Dew as a mixer.
Most start with either vodka or Midori, and round out with a splash of 7-up or pineapple juice…maybe to balance out the turbo charged impact of the Mountain Dew.
You can also slow-cook pork chops or pulled pork with Mountain Dew, just like with Coke or Dr. Pepper.
The cake recipe below has been a real hit with my friends–especially those who prefer citrus cakes over chocolate ones.
Mountain Dew Cake –
It’s a bundt cake recipe, but you can adapt it to a sheet cake, cupcakes or a layer cake. Just make a larger batch of frosting, and increase the powdered sugar in the recipe to make it thicker.
Personally, I preferred it as a layer cake– but that’s because I am really into frosting, which I slather over my layers.
Mountain Dew Cake
Ingredients
- 1 box lemon cake mix
- 1 3.4 oz. box lemon instant pudding
- 12 ounces Mountain Dew one can, or one and a half cups
- 3/4 cup oil
- 4 eggs
Instructions
- Grease and flour baking pan(s). Preheat oven at 325.Note - For layer cakes, I recommend greasing the pans, then putting round parchment or wax paper liners in the greased bottom. Grease the paper once it's in the pan, then flour lined pans.(2) In a large bowl, combine cake mix and pudding. Add Mountain Dew, oil, and eggs--and a few drops of green food coloring, if you like. Beat at medium until smooth.(3) Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake for 45-50 minutes. (Sheet and layer cakes bake for less time. I start checking my sheet cake at about 30 minutes, and my layer cakes at about 20 minutes.) Let cool in pan for 15 minutes or more. (4) Remove from pan and glaze with icing--as follows...For bundt cake - melt one tablespoon butter, remove from heat and add 1/4 c. Mountain Dew, and enough powdered sugar to make a thin icing.For layer, sheet, and cup cakes - use softened butter, rather than melted. I use 2 sticks of butter or margarine, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and 1/4 c. Mt. Dew. You can add a few drops of green food coloring. To add some extra tang, add a little lemon juice or lemon extract to the frosting.You can substitute a yellow cake mix and vanilla pudding. Just add a little lemon juice or lemon extract.
This cake would have made ol’ hillbilly proud!
I’m Melissa Genson CPA/CIA, investigative journalist and publisher of Quartzsite Star. I’m a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor, and I specialize in fraud and money laundering investigations. My husband Steve and I are also full-time RV nomads since 2018, traveling the U.S. with our little dog Oliver. Ride along with us!
