Root Beer Bundt Cake - July Cake Odyssey



We didn't drink a lot of pop when I was a kid.  It was a special treat for once in a while.  Typically, if we had pizza or made popcorn, we'd make up a pitcher of Kool Aid to drink with it.  Otherwise, we always drank water or milk.  We pretty much follow that same way of thinking with our kids.  But I even worry about all of the Capri Suns they drink, especially this time of year.  All of that convenience packaging makes it so, well, convenient!

We camped a lot when I was a kid and Mom would take us to the grocery store and we'd each get to pick out a bottle of Faygo pop to take along.  I usually picked out root beer.  My brothers were partial to either the grape or orange flavors.  I still like root beer, but I'm not very fond of pop/soda unless it's Diet Pepsi.  Regular pop is just too sweet for me and makes my teeth hurt.

I was interested in this recipe when I received the latest issue of Food Network Magazine in the mail.  I have made root beer float cookies before and while they tasted good, they didn't have as much root beer flavor as I had hoped. 

Root Beer Bundt Cake

Here's What You Need:

1 stick butter

2 cups flour

2 1/2 cups root beer

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch

3 large eggs

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Here's What You Do:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  With cooking spray, lightly coat and dust with flour a 12-cup Bundt pan; tap out the excess flour.

Heat 2 cups root beer, the cocoa powder, chocolate and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts. Add the granulated and brown sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.  I poured it in the metal bowl of my stand mixer just to help it cool faster.

Combine 2 cups flour, the baking soda, allspice and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl.  I used cinnamon instead of allspice.  I love chocolate and cinnamon together!  Beat the eggs and then whisk them into the root beer mixture.  Gently fold in the dry ingredients (the batter will be slightly lumpy).

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.  It will take anywhere from 55 minutes to 1 hour.  Rotate the pan halfway through so it bakes evenly. Transfer to a rack. Gently poke the cake all over with a skewer and pour 1/4 cup root beer over the cake; let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the glaze: Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup root beer, a pinch of salt, the confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle over the cake.  I was in a rush.  Go figure!  And I poured the glaze over the cake while the cake was still too warm.  As a result, the heat from the cake caused the glaze to melt into the cake.  So, the flavor was still there and all, it just didn't adhere to the top and sides like it should and made it not look as pretty as it did in the magazine. 

This cake is delicious.  I wouldn't know there was root beer in it though just from tasting it.  It's really moist and it was fun to make.  I liked quizzing my family when I served it to them. 

Me:   Guess what the secret ingredient is!
Jenna:  Ginger.  I definitely taste ginger. (my little foodista)
Evan:  Um, duh, I don't know, Mommy.  Could it be chocolate?  (my little comedian)
Owen:  This tastes yummy!
Me:  That's not a guess.
Kevin:   Why is my piece so small?
Me:   That's not a guess.