• Cookbook of the Month Recipe – Root Beer Bundt Cake

  Filed under Cookbook of the Month, dessert - cakes/cupcakes
  Apr 24
  **Last chance to win a copy of this month’s Cookbook of the Month! See the bottom of the post for details.**

  Ooooh, my 4th recipe from this book, and the last for the month. I had such a hard time choosing – would I make the Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie? The Coconut Snowball Cupcakes? The Pecan and Almond Chocolate Toffee? So many to choose from, but I ended up going with the Root Beer Bundt Cake. Was it a good decision? Most definitely!!

  We are root beer drinkers in our house. We don’t drink a ton of soda, but we do have a few liters of diet root beer in the pantry for whenever we get that craving. Unfortunately, you aren’t supposed to use diet for this recipe, so really, the root beer was the only ingredient I had to pick up from the store – everything else I had on hand. I was originally intending on making this into cupcakes so I could share them, but I decided last minute to go ahead and make the bundt cake.

  The book says that the cake’s flavor intensifies overnight, so I tried a slice after making the cake, and again the next day. Was the cake good? YES! Was the cake chocolaty? YES! Was the cake moist? YES, YES, YES! Did the cake have a strong root beer flavor? No. That was the only disappointing part of this cake. In fact, I could taste a hint of root beer the day I made the cake, but that hint was totally gone the next day. I actually don’t think you’d even be able to pick the flavor out at all if you didn’t know it was in there. But this cake is so delicious, and one of the moistest cakes I’ve ever made, that I would go to this recipe again in a heartbeat if I was wanting a good chocolate cake recipe. The frosting is equally good, although it, too, didn’t taste like root beer. I’m glad this recipe was so much better than last week’s. This one really is worth trying!

  Recipe rating: 4.8 out of 5

  Root Beer Bundt Cake
  from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

  makes 1 bundt cake

  Cake
  2 cups root beer (do not use diet root beer)
  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 teaspoons baking soda
  1 teaspoon salt
  2 large eggs

  Frosting
  2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
  1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  1 teaspoons salt
  1/4 cup root beer
  2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
  2 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

  Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Generously spray the inside of a 10-inch bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray; alternatively, butter it, dust with flour, and knock out the excess flour.

  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 the 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 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.

  For the root beer frosting:

  Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth.

  Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the crown of the Bundt in a thick layer. Let the frosting set before serving, with the ice cream on the side.

  Want another opinion on this recipe?

  gastronomy
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  My Baking Adventures
  Confessions of a City Eater
  Ipso Fatto
  All Things Edible

  **Win a copy of this month’s Cookbook of the Month!**

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  71 Comments

71 Responses to “Cookbook of the Month Recipe – Root Beer Bundt Cake”

1. 

   Paula said on April 24th, 2009 at 3:25 pm

   Oh. My. Gosh. My son loves root beer, and would think he was in Heaven if he saw this! What a fun and gorgeous cake! I love it when recipes have surprise ingredients such as this one does. I’m going to tag this to try for my son. YUM!

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2. 

   Jean Bugs said on April 24th, 2009 at 3:33 pm

   I have absolutely got to make this cake! It is incredibly gorgeous! Lilke a dude with a top hat

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3. 

   Jingle said on April 24th, 2009 at 3:35 pm

   I should give this a shot. I tried rootbeer cupcakes and they lacked a strong rootbeer flavor, too. I think maybe some tweeking might make it stronger.

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4. 

   Sarah said on April 24th, 2009 at 3:56 pm

   That icing looks like crown on top of a beautiful cake!

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5. 

   Kelly said on April 24th, 2009 at 4:09 pm

   Mmmmm looks delicious!

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6. 

   Laura said on April 24th, 2009 at 4:17 pm

   How sad that it doesn’t taste like Root beer–if it did, you could have it à la mode and have root beer float cake!

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7. 

   Mama Goose said on April 24th, 2009 at 4:30 pm

   It sure is pretty! I love rootbeer floats… Mmmm. Now I have to go get one!

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8. 

   Steph said on April 24th, 2009 at 4:33 pm

   Oh wow that sounds delicious! I love the icing on top too, it looks like something I need right now!

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9. 

   Jessi said on April 24th, 2009 at 4:49 pm

   That is to bad it didn’t taste like Root beer. I need to make it anyway though. My kids love Root beer!!!

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10. 

    Elaine said on April 24th, 2009 at 4:50 pm

    I’ve never heard of putting root beer in a cake, but it looks delicious! I’m going to try this one.

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11. 

    Jenn said on April 24th, 2009 at 5:10 pm

    That looks delicious! But I, too, am disappointed at the lack of root beer flavor. I’ve heard that before with Root Beer desserts though.

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12. 

    Debbie said on April 24th, 2009 at 5:20 pm

    My husband loves root beer. He would go nuts over this cake!!

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13. 

    Reneé said on April 24th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

    I love root beer too! I’ll have to try this…

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14. 

    Holly said on April 24th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

    This looks fabulous. Wow. I’m definitely going to try it.

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15. 

    emyru said on April 24th, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    I am very interested in trying this cake! I’m actually glad it doesn’t have an overwhelming root beer taste – It looks incredible.

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16. 

    The Queen of Quite a Lot said on April 24th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    What brand of Root Beer did you use? I wonder if a different brand would give a more root beer flavor that lasts.

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17. 

    Natalie said on April 24th, 2009 at 5:56 pm

    this seems like a pretty fabulous cookbook! i’d love to win it!!

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18. 

    Kathy said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:02 pm

    This looks sooo good! Thanks for sharing!!!

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19. 

    Andrew & Carlene Wood said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:23 pm

    Hmmm…that kind of sounds wierd..but you say it’s good so it must be. The frosting looks delicious!!
    maybe the rootbeer is what makes it so moist?

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20. 

    Andrew & Carlene Wood said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:23 pm

    Hmmm…that kind of sounds wierd..but you say it’s good so it must be. The frosting looks delicious!!
    maybe the rootbeer is what makes it so moist?

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21. 

    Charity said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:24 pm

    Root beer is my soda of choice also and mixing in a chocolate cake sounds great! Thanks for sharing and offering the cookbook contest.

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22. 

    Andrew & Carlene Wood said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    so it called for root beer and not root beer extract, right?

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23. 

    Andrew & Carlene Wood said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:25 pm

    so it called for root beer and not root beer extract, right?

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24. 

    Rosa's Yummy Yums said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:38 pm

    That bundt cake looks incredibly scrumptious! Surely very flavorful!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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25. 

    Jennifer said on April 24th, 2009 at 6:41 pm

    This would make the perfectbirthday cake for my nephew. He loves rootbeer and his birthday is two weeks away. i don’t know when it became my job to make everyone bday cake – but i love it and always look for new recipies.

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26. 

    Ginny said on April 24th, 2009 at 7:04 pm

    there is a Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie? that sounds divine! this looks good but I really don’t like root beer but if I can wait a day, maybe I’ll give it a try…

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27. 

    Amy S. said on April 24th, 2009 at 7:18 pm

    I love bundt cakes! This one looks great!

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28. 

    Nama said on April 24th, 2009 at 7:24 pm

    I love root bear. And chocolate. Why haven’t I thought to mix these until now?

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29. 

    Angie said on April 24th, 2009 at 7:30 pm

    This reminds me of a Coke cake — made with coke instead of rootbeer. I also have a recipe for a rootbeer BBQ sauce, but the taste of rootbeer isn’t very pronounced either.

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30. 

    Dawn said on April 24th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    I agree. When I made that cake it was super tasty. Never had a cake with such depth of flavoring. Thank goodness hubby brought the rest into work, as I would have devoured it.

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31. 

    Angie said on April 24th, 2009 at 11:03 pm

    Mmmm, this looks so delicious! I love rootbeer so I think I’ll definitely like this cake. :]

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32. 

    Jenna said on April 24th, 2009 at 11:41 pm

    This cake looks delicious and pretty too! I’ll have to make it for a friend that loves root beer.

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33. 

    thebrunettebaker said on April 25th, 2009 at 1:07 am

    I like my root beer with pizza and I’m just not sure I want it in my cake. So many of the Baked recipes sound great (haven’t made any yet) but this one?????

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34. 

    Carrie said on April 25th, 2009 at 1:19 am

    I love rootbeer. I think I’ll have to try this recipe. Thank you!

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35. 

    Shari said on April 25th, 2009 at 1:26 am

    a root beer cake sounds wonderful! It is such a pretty cake too! Might have to try it!

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36. 

    Melissa @ For the Love of Health said on April 25th, 2009 at 3:05 am

    That looks so tasty!

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37. 

    annasmimi said on April 25th, 2009 at 3:29 am

    We love Root Beer, what a great looking cake! Yum!!

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38. 

    Melanie Anne said on April 25th, 2009 at 3:59 am

    What a cool cake!! My boys would love this! Thanks for sharing this recipe. Your blog is GREAT!!

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39. 

    Elyse said on April 25th, 2009 at 4:43 am

    I can’t say it enough! I love my Baked cookbook. You’ve shown me yet another recipe that I need to make from the book. I am sad that the rootbeer flavor doesn’t shine through, but your description of a moist and super chocolatey cake sounds great by me! Maybe we could think of a rootbeer syrup to pour over the hot cake to preserve the rootbeer flavor? Man, the cake sure does look delicious! Can’t wait to try the recipe.

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40. 

    Erin said on April 25th, 2009 at 5:05 am

    I love this cookbook! I’ve been wanting to make this, along with so many other delicious recipes! It looks wonderful!

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41. 

    Carol said on April 25th, 2009 at 6:36 am

    This cake looks simply delicious!

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42. 

    MindyW said on April 25th, 2009 at 10:43 am

    OOOOHHH! Now you are speaking my language! We love bundt cakes! And, soda! This looks scrumptious! Thanks for the recipe.

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43. 

    kristina said on April 25th, 2009 at 11:35 am

    I would be a little disappointed not to taste the root beer too, as root beer floats were my favorite special treat growing up!

    But a fab chocolate cake recipe (and especially such a moist one, and one that keeps so well) is perhaps even more useful! Must give this one a try. K x

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44. 

    Hilary said on April 25th, 2009 at 12:46 pm

    Hmmm….interesting. I have seen cola cakes before…but never root beer.

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45. 

    Maria said on April 25th, 2009 at 3:29 pm

    I have heard a lot about this cake. I don’t like root beer, maybe I will like it if it wasn’t that strong!

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46. 

    RecipeGirl said on April 25th, 2009 at 6:16 pm

    I keep hearing about this root beer cake. It’s interesting. I mean, who would think to put root beer in a cake? Too bad you can’t really taste it. I’m a big root beer fan, so it would be fun to have that flavor present. Chocolate is good too though

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47. 

    Talia said on April 25th, 2009 at 8:10 pm

    That looks fabulous. I’m going to have to try it! What’s the cooking time for doing cupcakes instead?

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48. 

    gayle said on April 25th, 2009 at 10:02 pm

    Always in the market for a good chocolate cake recipe – with or without root beer. I’ll have to give this one a try!
    Are you sure you can’t manage to sneak in that Tuscaloosa Tollhouse Pie before the end of the month? (drool drool)

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49. 

    Megan said on April 25th, 2009 at 10:16 pm

    This looks like a great cake!

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50. 

    Stephanie :) said on April 26th, 2009 at 1:41 am

    I tried a root beer cake once and wasn’t overly impressed. I love specialty root beer, though! MMMM

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51. 

    Jan said on April 26th, 2009 at 3:10 am

    thats a new one… rootbeer cake! I’ve never heard of this one … I can’t wait to give it a try.

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52. 

    n.o.e said on April 26th, 2009 at 4:27 am

    This cookbook is at the top of my wish list. I’ve made the Baked brownies and they are fantastic. Your assessment of this cake matches the other things I’ve read about it. Can’t argue with a great choc cake, though!
    Nancy

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53. 

    Ingrid said on April 26th, 2009 at 4:40 am

    That’s kind of a bummer that the cake didn’t have that root beer flavor you were looking for. The plus side is despite that shortcoming it was still a great cake.
    ~ingrid

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54. 

    Janell said on April 26th, 2009 at 5:29 am

    I would have never made this but now I really really want to! It looks delicious and I’m wishing I had a piece right now…even though it’s 11:28 pm!!

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55. 

    Kevin said on April 26th, 2009 at 3:44 pm

    I really like the sound of baking with root beer. The cake looks great!

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56. 

    Power Kites Sale said on April 27th, 2009 at 2:45 am

    It’s awesome! Everyone only means one thing. That cake is delicious, even if i don’t taste it but i can see its gonna be yummy.

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57. 

    buttercreamgirl said on April 27th, 2009 at 4:06 am

    hi! this is my first post! yay!

    This cake sounds fantastic. (my house is a root beer house too) i think maybe if you used a tiny bit of root beer extract it might keep the root beer flavor from getting overwhelmed by the chocolate…i’ll try it out and let you know! thanks for the awesome blog! happy baking!

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58. 

    Grace said on April 27th, 2009 at 12:57 pm

    if i had my way, you would’ve made the coconut snowball cupcakes, but such is life. this cake sounds pretty darn tasty, and i, for one, would be relieved at the lack of root beer flavor.

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59. 

    CookiePie said on April 27th, 2009 at 1:56 pm

    Root beer bundt cake – YUM!!! I need to make a gift for some friends — this would be perfect. Thanks for sharing!

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60. 

    Jackie said on April 27th, 2009 at 2:48 pm

    I have a great recipe for rootbeer cookies that uses rootbeer flavoring. I wonder if you could add a bit of that to intensify the rootbeer flavor. I may have to try it. I hope I have a shot at winning this great book!

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61. 

    Crystal said on April 27th, 2009 at 4:41 pm

    Root Beer & Chocolate…two of my favorites! This has to be a great cake!

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62. 

    Cathy - wheresmydamnanswer said on April 27th, 2009 at 6:32 pm

    What a kick ass combination – YUM!!!

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63. 

    Katie said on April 27th, 2009 at 6:45 pm

    That looks amazing!

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64. 

    ana dane said on April 27th, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    i wonder what it would taste like with ginger ale- a brand with real ginger, not just a sugary flavoring- would taste like. hmm.

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65. 

    Brilynn said on April 28th, 2009 at 3:20 pm

    Too bad about the lack of rootbeer flavour, but that cake looks awesome! I haven’t had rootbeer in ages, you’ve got me craving it now!

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66. 

    Jenny said on April 29th, 2009 at 6:33 pm

    Wow, that looks delicious! Even though it doesn’t taste like root beer, I would imagine that it would intensify the chocolate flavor. Does it make a difference if the root beer is carbonated or flat?

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67. 

    Anonymous said on April 29th, 2009 at 6:52 pm

    I made this cake the other day, but the frosting looks nothing like the picture. In fact, it turned out black-almost jet black. I’ve gone over the recipe a few times and followed it to the letter. What could have gone wrong?

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68. 

    Bumblebutton said on April 29th, 2009 at 7:34 pm

    That looks so delicious that I have just convinced my almost-8-year-old that he should have this as his 8th Birthday/First Communion cake this weekend. I have some root beer extract, so I’ll add that to boost the flavor. I’d love to win this book, as I am number 259 in the library queue!

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69. 

    Bumblebutton said on April 29th, 2009 at 7:37 pm

    That looks so delicious that I have just convinced my almost-8-year-old that he should have this as his 8th Birthday/First Communion cake this weekend. I have some root beer extract, so I’ll add that to boost the flavor. I’d love to win this book, as I am number 259 in the library queue!

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70. 

    KimS said on April 30th, 2009 at 12:34 am

    I’m not a fan of root beer, so not tasting like it could be good thing!

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71. 

    Vanessa said on June 17th, 2009 at 5:23 am

    Why didn't I see this sooner? I found a bunch of root beer cake recipes online about a year ago. Most of them were cut & paste copies of the same recipe, so I ended up trying only a few versions. None of them tasted like root beer and I made a surprise chocolate one too.

    They were all tasty, but the descriptions were misleading. I think people must have posted their descriptions without actually trying the recipe first.

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