Dr Pepper's New Flavor Tastes Just Like My Favorite Childhood Candy

Dr Pepper was always my go-to soda choice from the fountain as a kid. Looking back on it, I couldn't even tell you what flavor Dr Pepper is, but I can conjure up that sweet and a little spicy taste with notes of cherry and vanilla from memory. And now, just in time for Valentine's Day, the brand is adding a little more flavor to its classic "23 flavors."

What Is the New Dr Pepper Flavor?

This week, a new flavor is joining the Dr Pepper flavor lineup permanently: Strawberries & Cream, which will be available in both Zero Sugar and original versions.

What Does the New Dr Pepper Flavor Taste Like?

I got a chance to try the new, fruity flavor and let me say: you can detect the strawberry flavor upon first crack. This Dr. Pepper smells just like you think a strawberries & cream soda should.

With one taste, I was transported to another childhood favorite of mine: Creme Savers Strawberries & Cream Hard Candies. A child who loves hard candy may sound odd, but I was truly obsessed with these little red-and-white swirled nuggets of deliciousness. So imagine my delight when this new flavor of my favorite childhood soda also tasted like my favorite childhood candy!

The Best Way to Use the New Dr Pepper Flavor

Unfortunately, I don't drink much soda these days and the drink was too sweet for me to finish the can. That's when my coworker popped in with the best idea for how to use this new Dr Pepper soda: Make a soda cake.

This hack was really popular a couple of years ago. All you do is take a box of cake mix and combine it with one can of soda (instead of the additional ingredients called for on the box) and bake according to package directions and voila! It turns out just like a normal, perfectly moist cake. With the cost of eggs as high as they are right now, this is also a great hack for baking without eggs.

So I grabbed a box of chocolate cake mix from my pantry and got to work. No more than 30 minutes later, I had a finished masterpiece.

For full disclosure, I used a gluten-free almond flour-based chocolate cake mix (I have celiac disease) and this cake came out very moist. Almond flour cakes tend to be more moist to start, so I think with a regular cake mix the texture would be much more balanced. That being said, it was still so delicious. The moistness of the cake means it's perfect on its own—no frosting or icing required. I simply dusted it with some powdered sugar and then served the slices with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh strawberry slices.

It tasted exactly like I was hoping it would: like a strawberry cake and a chocolate cake came together to creating the most satisfying chocolate-covered strawberry-inspired baked good.

To really do my homework, I tried the same method with a box of brownie mix. And while the flavor still brought that perfect chocolate-covered strawberry vibe, I would not recommend using brownie mix. The carbonation from the soda adds too many air pockets to the brownies, making them oddly spongy and not the dense, fudgy texture we all know and love in a brownie.

How To Make a Chocolate & Strawberry Soda Dump Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 box chocolate cake mix
• 1 can Dr Pepper Strawberries & Cream

Combine the cake mix and soda in a large mixing bowl and stir until combined. Pour batter into a greased baking pan and bake according to package directions.

Frost with strawberry or chocolate frosting, or simply dust with powdered sugar. Serve slices with a dollop of whipped cream and optional fresh sliced strawberries.