Root Beer Bundt Cake

A cake between friends:


Have you ever met somebody and instantaneously hit it off? You just connected immediately? I am not referring to a romantic situation, but the same logic applies. This past year I made an incredible friend, Elyse, who found me right here on this blog. It started out simple enough. We just commented on each others blog, which then turned into emails, followed up by daily conversations on Gchat. She and I were lucky enough to finally meet in person this past Labor Day weekend when I went to visit another friend in San Fransisco. Elyse is a wonderful friend and an amazing baker. If you have not visited her blog yet, then take a break and go right now. Since Elyse and I can not actually get together to bake since she is on the west coast and I am on the east coast, she and I decided we would do a bake-along a couple times a month. This month I was pressed on time, but we wanted to make a cake. Elyse mentioned this cake and I thought it would be great. I thought this cake was really delicious and the frosting was incredible, but I honestly did not taste a bit of the root beer flavor. The recipe suggest using root beer schnapps, which I recommend if you want to taste the root beer.

Root Beer Bundt Cake
from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the bundt cake:
2 cups root beer (not diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick spray, or butter and flour it.

In a small 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 heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.

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—do not overbeat, as it could cause the cake to be tough.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a small knife (or toothpick) comes out clean.

Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely. Gently loosen the sides of the cake from the pan and turn it out onto the rack.

Root Beer Fudge Frosting
2 oz dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth. (Note: I do not have a food processor so I just used an hand mixer which worked fine.)

Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the bundt in a thick layer.

Let the frosting set before serving. Serve with ice cream on the side (I recommend Vanilla).