Before I made this cake on Sunday afternoon, I sat down with a nice, tall root beer float. ย Sure, it was 10:30 in the morning. ย I suppose that technically that means I had a root beer float for breakfast. ย That’s one of the great thing about being an adult, you can have a float for breakfast with no resistance.
Something about a root beet float puts me on a conveyor belt back to some really random childhood memories. ย The taste, the bubbles, the increasingly creamy soda… it take me back to constantly skinned knees, playing in a beat-up old red wagon with my sister, and sitting in front of an old black and white television watching baseball with my grandfather. ย Funny what a little ice cream and soda can do in your brain, right?
But cake!? ย Root Beet Float Cake? ย I have so many questions. ย Will it have the same memory inducing effects as the real deal? ย Is that asking too much? ย Wait, is this cake chocolate or root beer? ย Can I eat it for breakfast? ย Will it change my life for the better?
Answers and cake, just a click away.
Here’s what you should know about the Root Beer Float Cake. ย It’s a wonderfully moist, super chocolate Bundt Cake. ย It’s the kind of cake that’s great to take to a outdoor summer party because it has the “hmmm” factor. ย People will wonder what’s in it besides the chocolate.
The cake doesn’t have the same memory inducing effects as a real root beer float. ย I blame that on all the chocolate. ย The root beer flavor does intensify in the cake the next day. ย I suggest making the cake a day ahead, wrapping it well, then frosting it and serving the next day. ย And yes… cake for breakfast is always encouraged around these parts. ย Cake for breakfast usually makes my life better.
Try this cake. ย Maybe for Memorial Day. ย Maybe put it on your summer baking list. ย I’d love to hear what you think!
Root Beer Float Cake
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking
2 cups root beer (don’t use diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
Preheat even to 325 degrees F. ย Spray the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter generously and dust with flour, knocking out the excess.
In a small saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until butter is melted. ย Add sugars and whisk until dissolved. ย Remove from heat and let cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten. ย Then whisk into the cocoa mixture until combined. ย Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. ย The batter will be slightly lumpy. ย You can give it a quick whisk if you like, but don’t over beat the batter or it could cause the cake to be tough. ย Don’t worry, the batter is very loose.
Pour the batter into prepared pan and cook for 35-45 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking until a sharp knife inserted in the center comes out clean. ย Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely then loosen edges with a butter knife and turn out onto a cake plate.
Chocolate Root Beer Frosting
2 ounces 60% cocoa, melted
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt (you may want to use less… maybe just 1/2 teaspoon)
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 ย cups powdered sugar
In the bowl of a stand mixer, or using an electric hand mixer, beat softened butter and cocoa powder. ย Once combined add the melted chocolate, salt, powdered sugar and root beer. ย Beat together until smooth. ย Spread on top of cooled cake. ย Slice and serve with ย vanilla ice cream.
193 Responses
I think Iโd enjoy this with a good vanilla frosting. Thereโs always vanilla ice cream in root beer floats. Iโll try it.
Wow! Looks yummy and very fluffy. I would love to bake this cake and enjoy it with my family on this weekend. Thanks for the share.
I just made this cake for my dad’s birthday (we share our “strange” love for root beer). I hope the buttercream stays “clean” until 8:00 p.m. I want to taste it with vainilla ice cream. The cake looks moist and the buttercream taste great.
The cake looks great! (And I am always so relieved when bundt cakes unmold without crumbling) But my frosting was a total flop. The chocolate seized up into tiny chunks so that the frosting has a weird texture and looked really lumpy. I ended up beating it until it was fluffy to disguise the lumpy texture, so it is more of a buttercream-looking frosting than a shiny bundt glaze. Maybe I should have used room-temperature root beer? I’d refrigerated it after I’d used some of it for the cake batter.
I don’t think the root beer temp should make a difference but if your butter was too cold, that could cause lumps. Also, sometimes it helps to sift your powdered sugar, especially if it’s older.
Hi, this is probably a silly question, but could this be baked at 350 degrees? Our oven is stuck on 350 and the repair guy isn’t coming until next week – would love to take this to a neighborhood BBQ this week! Thank you!
350 should be fine! just lessen the cooking time a bit. keep an eye on it!
You’re sweet to reply, thanks kindly! Love your blog.