I love a good root beer float. I haven’t had one for a LONG time, but I still love them. I saw this recipe for root beer float cupcakes a while ago and decided it was time to give it a try.
Before you go making these things, make sure you realize that there is a difference between Root Beer FLAVOR and Root Beer CONCENTRATE.
Yours truly? Yeah, I didn’t realize I picked up FLAVOR instead. It took me a loooooong time to achieve a root beer flavor that I was looking for.
Like almost the ENTIRE bottle of the stuff…which threw off my powdered sugar ratio for the root beer frosting.
Don’t be stupid like me.
Read the bottle. Make sure you see the word “CONCENTRATE”
In my defense, Target didn’t have it. And when I went to Hy-Vee, all they had was “Root Beer Flavor.” Now I know that Walmart, as much as I hate going there, carries the stuff.
That wasn’t really a defense, was it? Oh well, I just really hate going to Walmart.
With that being said, these were interesting. Honestly, I liked the taste of the chocolate cupcake, but I felt like the weight of the frosting filling and the frosting warranted a denser cake. But, that could just be a matter of my taste.
The overall effect is pretty freaking cool. It does taste like a root beer float…but in a different form.
Root Beer Cupcakes
Ingredients
1 1/8 c. AP Flour
1/4 c. Dark Cocoa Powder
1 1/4 tsp. Baking Soda
1/2 tsp. Kosher Salt
3/4 c. Brown Sugar
1 Large Egg
1/2 c. + 1 T. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/2 c. Salted Butter, melted
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 T. Sour Cream
2 tsp. Root Beer Concentrate
1/3 c. Root Beer
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tins with 12 cupcake liners.
2) In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Set aside
3) In the bowl of your standup mixer, with the whisk attachment affixed, whisk the egg and brown sugar together. It should be smooth. No lumps dude
4) Add the heavy whipping cream, melted butter and vanilla. Mix on medium speed for a minute.
5) Kick your mixer down to stir and add the sour cream
6) Gradually add your flour mixture from step 2 and mix until it’s just combined.
7) Add the root beer and root beer concentrate. Mix on medium speed for a minute or so. It should be smooth.
8) Fill your cupcake liners about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes (mine took 18 minutes). Remove from muffin tins and cool COMPLETELY on wire racks.
Vanilla AND Root Beer Frosting
Ingredients
Kinda convenient that the root beer frosting builds off of your vanilla frosting, eh?
3/4 c. Salted Butter, softened
4 c. Powdered Sugar
1/2 T. Vanilla Extract
2 T. Heavy Whipping Cream
1/4 tsp. Root Beer Concentrate (you can adjust this to fit your taste, btw)
1) In the bowl of your standup mixer, with the paddle attachment affixed, cream the butter for 2 minutes. We’re looking for light and fluffy, folks!
2) Kick the speed down to stir and slowly add the powdered sugar.
3) Rev it up to medium high and mix it until it’s looking creamy again
4) Add the heavy whipping cream and vanilla and mix until combined. About another minute or so
5) Take out most of this mixture, leaving 1/2 c. behind in the bowl, and fill one of your pastry bags with the vanilla stuff.
6) In the “leftover” bowl, add your root beer concentrate and beat until combined. Fill another pastry bag with this stuff
7) By now, your cupcakes should be cooled. Now, you can add the root beer frosting one of two ways…
a) You can just stick the tip of your pastry bag into the cupcake and give it a nice squeeze, or you can be like me and…
b) Cut a cone shape out of the middle of each cupcake and pipe the root beer frosting inside.
8) Now, top your cupcakes with a lil swirl of vanilla frosting.
Pretty cute, no?
Source: How Sweet It Is
xoxo
Michelle