Root Beer Float Cake
Root beer floats. Cake. Root beer float cake. Totally genius. And so delicious.
I adore root beer floats. Actually, floats of any kind. I have been known to throw a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a bowl and pour Diet Coke over it. There are many things I am not above doing all in the name of getting a sweet fix. Remember a few years ago when Wendy’s introduced their Frosty Floats? At the time I lived less than half a mile from a Wendy’s and made an embarrassing number of drive-thru runs that summer for those floats. It’s so much better to make a root beer float cake in the privacy of your own home and enjoy it without perceived judgement. Unless you’re judging yourself. For licking a wee bit too much of the “leftover” frosting out of the bowl. And giving yourself a stomachache. When you were supposed to be sticking to fruits, vegetables and grains. Oops. It’s not really my fault. The frosting cast some sort of addicting spell…
Given my love for root beer floats, you’d think I could remember the last time I actually had one, but I can’t. Which made finishing the bottle of leftover root beer so, so glorious. Ahh, sweet bubbly.
There is a whopping 2 cups of root beer used in the batter for this cake, and another ¼ cup is used in the frosting, so you definitely get the root beer flavor. Plus, the cake sort of soaks in the flavors the longer it sits. If you bake the cake, cool it and then wrap it well in plastic wrap and serve it the next day, the root beer flavor will have intensified.
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After having made Guinness chocolate cupcakes and Guinness chocolate ice cream for St. Patrick’s Day, it should have dawned on me that if a deep velvety beer was a great pair with chocolate, then it stood to reason that root beer would be as well. It has the same type of complementary effect – it brings out the depth and richness of the chocolate, while imparting its own unique flavor. Quite simply, it’s awesome. And the frosting is so far out of this world insanely good, I have no other words. You just have to make it. You have to.
The other thing you have to do is serve this cake with vanilla ice cream. Aside from the obvious float connotation, the ice cream complements this cake perfectly. It is a very rich cake, and the cool smoothness of the ice cream helps to balance it out. Also, there is a reason there are two scoops of ice cream in the pictures (even though one would have made for a better picture). You simply need two scoops. One won’t cut it. Trust me.
I’m pretty sure that this is the perfect summer dessert. Going to a picnic or graduation party and need to bring something? (Perhaps even this weekend for Memorial Day?) This is your new secret weapon. Everyone will love you and want the recipe. And the kicker? You don’t need a mixer of any sort for this cake. A saucepan and three bowls for everything (including the frosting). This really is a magical cake. And it’s a bundt cake. Which is all sorts of retro chic right now. Which I happen to love.
P.S. The leftover root beer and vanilla ice cream? Homemade root beer floats, woo!
One year ago: Blackberry Pie Bars
Two years ago: Greek Celebration Bread – Christopsomos
Three years ago: Buttermilk Pancakes
Root Beer Float Cake
Ingredients
For the Root Beer Bundt Cake:
- 2 cups (472 ml) root beer, do not use diet root beer
- 1 cup (86 g) dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces, (4 ounces )
- 1¼ cups (250 g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (110 g) dark brown sugar
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1¼ teaspoons (1.25 teaspoons) baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
For the Root Beer Fudge Frosting:
- 2 ounces (56.7 g) dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, softened, (4 ounces )
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (59 ml) root beer
- ⅔ cup (57.33 g) dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2½ cups (300 g) powdered sugar
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F*. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray, or butter the pan and dust with flour, shaking out the excess flour; set aside.
- 2. In a medium saucepan, heat the root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.
- 3. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together.
- 4. In a small bowl, whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter will be slightly lumpy, which is okay. Do not overbeat it, as it could cause the cake to be tough.
- 5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small sharp knife inserted into the cake comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.
- 6. To make the Root Beer Fudge Frosting, put all of the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and satiny, scraping the sides of the food processor a couple of times. (If you don't have a food processor, simply throw it all into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl using a hand mixer and mix on medium-low until combined and satiny smooth.)
- 7. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the cake in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving. Store leftovers wrapped well or in an airtight container at room temperature.
- *Note: If you are using a dark, nonstick pan, heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
I would like to try this with just dark beer, not being too much of a root-beer fan. Any thoughts on that, or any experience with subbing real beer? Do you think it would not be sweet enough in the cake portion?
Hi Marilou, I have not tried using regular beer; I’m not sure what affect it would have on the cake since it would have extra yeast and not as much sugar.
I have to agree with Kim K above. I just made this cake for hubby’s birthday and I ended up with the small bits of white flour. Maybe if I had sifted the flour it would have helped?? I’m tempted to say I would blend the flour lumps too. That said- the cake tasted really great- but not like root beer. I used Virgil’s but tasted very little Root Beer flavor if any at all. The frosting is yummy too- but I’d cut the salt in half- everyone commented on how the frosting was salty. Overall- a good concept and great tasting cake- but maybe needs a boost to the root beer flavor, more blending and less salt in frosting.
Firstly, I love your blog and I’ve made a ton of your recipes. I’ve never had a bad one yet. Today I made this cake. I was careful not to mix it too much like pancake batter there were small lumps in it. I assumed they’d disappear in baking like they do with pancakes. I was shocked to find small bits of hard white flour throughout the whole cake. I’m so disappointed! I would definitely NOT make this recipe again, unless I blended the flour lumps out before I baked it.
I used this recipe to make Rootbeer float cupcakes. They were a HUGE hit! Today, the cupcakes and a link to your page were featured on my work blog. http://countrylife.lehmans.com/behind-the-scenes-at-lehmans-a-sweet-16/
This cake was delicious!!! It tasted like an amazing lava cake… however, none of the rootbeer flavor came through, so its more like a rich chocolate cake.
I needed a way to use up some root beer that had been sitting in the fridge for weeks, and I chose this recipe. Good call, if I do say so myself! I’m loving the dark chocolate-y richness of it. I followed commenter Nee Nee’s advice and reduced the extra root beer into a dense syrup; the cake doesn’t need it but it’s excellent poured over the ice cream! The frosting is really spectacular. I would like to use it again for other cakes, but not necessarily with root beer. I’m thinking perhaps brewed coffee might work as a substitute if frosting a non-root beer cake?
The frosting was way too salty, I think a teaspoon is too much salt, next time I will use less, maybe 1/2 teaspoon
I’ll have to try this! I have lots of leftover root beer soda tha I need to use up! Great post!
ok, first when i seen this cake i was super inspired to make it as well because i have made such cakes as the coke a cola and love!! my grandmas fav is rootbeer so what better on her 82 bday than to have a root beer cake… after making and tasting this cake i can for sure say 2 things about it..
1. goodness greif do not give this cake to an 82 year old it has so much caffeine in it with almost 2 whole cups of dark chocolate… geeze she would have high blood pressure for 4 days after eatging this and
2. it has a slight very small hit of root beer… not at all what i had hoped it would taste like so i wouldn’t say it was very much different than the coke a cola recipes out there and the frosting for them is much better for the cake, more of a glaze and not butter cream…
just my thoughts on it… its by no means a horrible cake but not what i had hoped for sure..
respectfully ,
chrisitna
Looks absolutely yummy! Few questions though:
As a scandinavian girl, rootbeer is not very common in my local supermarkets – can I use an alternative beer? (Dark, etc.)
I love frosting, but I’m not a fan of butter-based frostings. Do you have an alternative frosting that could be good?
Can this cake be frozen? If yes, is this also the case if it has frosting on top?
Thank you in advance :)
Hi Kristine, Root beer is actually not a “beer”, but rather a soft drink. So you could substitute it with your favorite type of dark-colored soft drink. All of the chocolate frostings that I’ve made have butter in them, so I’m afraid I can’t help you with a substitute. Yes, you can freeze this cake, even with the frosting.
Hi Michelle!
Thank you for the reply :) Very helpfull.
I can only think of Coca Cola as a soft drink. But would that work? Should I in that case look for a cherry or vanilla coke?
Hi Kristine, You don’t need cherry or vanilla, unless you’re specifically wanting to incorporate those flavors. Regular Coca Cola will work just fine.
Hi Brown Eyed Baker. I tried this cake a couple of days back and the cake came out very hard after cooling.It took longer way longer to bake than the time you mentioned( 35-40mins). I was wondering what went wrong? How long would i need to beat eggs for ?I would love to make this cake exactly like yours.Looks amazing…
Hi Sue, You don’t need to beat the eggs long at all, just hand whisk them until they are broken up and blended. I’m wondering if you used a different size pan by any chance?
Ohhh noooo. i didn’t have the 10inch bundt cake pan so i used a 9 inch round cake pan instead.. Was that the problem? Shucks.. Alright i will try it again with the exact pan and tell you the outcome. Thank you Michelle
i made this cake and though it tasted like a great chocolate cake, i was not impressed with the rootbeer part. in the cake part i could only taste a hint of rootbeer and i used A&W and let the cake sit. the frosting was great but i couldnt taste rootbeer in it at all. so this was mostly just a great chocolate cake with great chocolate frosting and i didnt even use the full amounts of chocolate that it called for. i guess i was just expecting more of a rootbeer flavor. sad.
i did that! i made it two days before eating! the only difference i can think of is that i added vanilla extract. also, the rootbeer was cold…i wonder if that made a difference?
Hmm maybe that had an effect. If you want to punch up the root beer flavor in the future, you could always use a few drops of root beer extract (found in the baking aisle near the vanilla and others).
i made this and although it was DELICIOUS, it tasted like chocolate cake. i didn’t taste the rootbeer. any suggestions/tips?
Hi Andrea, I found that the root beer flavor was more pronounced the next day, so maybe make it a day ahead, then store it airtight and serve the next day if you felt the root beer flavor was lacking. Also, make sure you don’t use diet root beer!
I just made this and loved it!! Thanks for the awesome recipe.
Walmart has root beer extract. Only place I could find it.
The picture of the cake is to die-for. I think I saw stars. Hello heaven! (Heaven has chocolate, right? They better do.) I’m definitely making this cake for my birthday!
I have a few quick questions though. What kind of cocoa did you use in the cake and what kind of chocolate did you use for the frosting? Also, I never seen Virgil’s Root Beer before–could it be found in Whole Foods Market?
I used Callebaut dutch-processed cocoa for the cake and Ghiradelli chocolate in the frosting. I don’t have a Whole Foods near me so I don’t know if they carry Virgil’s root beer, but I did find it in the natural/organic foods section of my grocery store, so they might have it.
Thank you!
where can one procure root beer extract?
You can find root beer extract or root beer concentrate in the baking aisle where the vanilla extract and other flavorings are.
Hi there!!!
This looks great! I was looking for something different/man friendly to make my brother for his birthday! I think this will be perfect!
I do have one question though… I like to decorate with fondant. I figured I could do the 2 – 8 inch pan cakes, ice them and decorate them… but I have learned the hard way that you need to use the right icing to have the fondant settle, stick and not slide off the cake.
I was thinking of doing a vanilla buttercream to draw on the vanilla ice cream idea… or do you think it would be better to use rootbeer extract instead of vanilla to make rootbeer buttercream? Obviously, I haven’t tasted the cake yet so input into what would work best is greatly apprecicated!
Hi Trina, I would use root beer extract in the frosting to bring out the flavor. The root beer flavor in the cake is more subtle (but will become more distinct if the cake rests overnight), while it is more pronounced in the frosting. Happy birthday to your brother!
It didn’t taste like rootbeer, but OMG, it was delicious!!!!
I just made this in cupcake form and they were AWEOSME!!! such a crowd pleaser. http://ovenadventures.blogspot.com/2011/07/root-beer-float-cupcake-and-my.html
I loved this cake!!! It was so moist and good….however, I don’t know if it’s the type of rootbeer I used (a&w) or what but I couldn’t taste the rootbeer. Any suggestions?
The flavor of the root beer really intensifies the next day. I used Virgil’s root beer, so I’m not sure if that could play into it or not?
I made this cake in 2 8 inch rounds for Father’s Day and let me tell you it was AWESOME!!! It was a fudgey moist rich cake that was not overly sweet (which i thought it would be). You have to have vanilla ice cream with it. We all thought it brought out the root beer flavor. I will absolutely be making this cake again.
i’ve now made this as a cake and cupcakes. I seriously can’t get enough this cake is fabulous!!!!!! If you are on the fence just do it. use rootbeer from a glass bottle and leave the cake sit a day. adults seem to go crazier over it than kids just fyi ;)
I am making this tonight for my granddaughter’s 12th birthday party tomorrow…she is a rootbeer addict (me, not so much). However, if it makes her happy for her special day, you will be the first to know!!! Thanks for the great idea, and keep up the good work!
i am new to baking and was wanting to make this in a regular 8 inch pan. wondering if it would be enough for 2 layers and how long do you think i should bake it for?
Thanks!!
Hi Christina, This will be enough batter for two 8″ cake layers. I would start checking for doneness 5 to 10 minutes sooner than is indicated in the recipe for the bundt cake.
awesome. thanks i can’t wait to make this cake!!!
should i keep the temp at 325 or up to 350?
thanks
I would keep the temperature at 325.
I turned these into cupcakes (and a tiny cake with the left over batter) last night and they’re amazing!
The frosting I think is one of the best parts. The guys in my office were very very happy to see me with my little cupcake carrier this morning and a half gallon of vanilla ice cream.
Thanks BEB! <3
root beer AND cocoa powder? I like your style! :D
Sounds delicious! I will take one right now please! =)
This looks like it would be so much fun to make…and eat! Love your pictures!
hi, i am making this as i type– but don’t have dark chocolate. can i use milk choc chips or semi sweet chips for the frosting instead?
Hi Melissa, I’m sorry I didn’t get to this while you were baking, as I was away for the weekend and not checking email, but yes, you could substitute semisweet chocolate. I’m not sure I would do milk chocolate, though, because it could be too sweet.