My friends beg me to make Joanna Gaines' decadent chocolate-cola cake whenever I host dinner parties

Gaines' recipe calls for 12 ingredients, including nonstick baking spray, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, kosher salt, salted butter, natural unsweetened cocoa powder, cola, baking soda, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract.

The salted butter, cocoa powder, and cola are also used to make the buttercream frosting, along with powdered sugar.

Once I have all the ingredients handy, I preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and spray a 10-inch round baking pan with nonstick spray.

Then, I begin making the cake batter by adding all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, and salt to a large bowl and mixing thoroughly.

For the next step in the batter-making process, I add salted butter, cocoa powder, and cola to a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until it's completely smooth.

Then, I pour the mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients and whisk until there are no lumps.

In another small bowl, I dissolve the baking soda in room-temperature buttermilk before pouring it into the existing batter.

After whisking, I add the vanilla extract and eggs and whisk again until smooth.

I add the finished batter to my baking pan, then place it in the oven to bake for 40 to 45 minutes.

Once it's done, I let the cake cool on a wire rack while I prepare the frosting.

To make the frosting, I use my stand mixer with the paddle attachment.

At medium speed, I beat the room-temperature butter until smooth. Next, I add cola and cocoa powder and mix on low until there are no lumps.

Then, I scrape the bowl, add some powdered sugar, and mix on medium again before repeating the process with the remaining powdered sugar.

The last step is to gently spread the frosting over the cooled cake.

The cake itself is rich yet incredibly moist, thanks to the cola, while the buttercream frosting serves as the perfect creamy complement to the cake's consistency.

When it comes to presentation, I always like to pull out a fun cake pedestal, because I think a dessert of this caliber deserves one. I also place fresh strawberries around the cake to add a bit of color to my dessert table, and it looks absolutely decadent.

A small slice does the trick to satisfy any sweet-tooth cravings.