Chocolate Root Beer Float Cake

My, how a month flies by!  That's right ... it's Crazy Cooking Challenge time!  This month's challenge - CHOCOLATE CAKE.  Pretty appropriate for the week before Valentine's Day, wouldn't you say?

The rules - Must be cake.  Must be chocolate.  No cupcakes.  No mini cakes.  Recipe must be found in blogland.  Anything else goes.  My, oh, my ... my head was spinning with all the options!  But, with a brand-spankin'-new bundt pan I got for Christmas, I imposed the rule upon myself that my cake had to be a bundt cake.  This month's challenge served up the perfect opportunity for me to give my new bundt its inaugural run.

Off chocolate cake a-searchin' I went.  I narrowed it down to three ... Chocolate Guinness Stout Cake, Red Wine Chocolate Cake, and Root Beer Cake ... and had a really tough time choosing my final contender.  I so wanted to make all three!  The choice came down to what I planned to do with the cake itself.  See, I planned to offload share the cake with my teacher friends at school.  I didn't think it would be a great idea to have a cake sitting there where all 750 of our students walk by to get their lunch with a big ol' sign saying "Guinness Stout Cake" or "Red Wine Cake."  Probably not the most appropriate words for wee ones' eyes.

So, this Root Beer Cake I found at One Apron became my choice.  I decided to "rename" it Chocolate Root Beer Float Cake because of the way the light-colored root beer glaze on top makes me think of the vanilla-ice-cream-foam on the top of an actual root beer float.  Pretty, isn't it?



The root beer flavor in this cake is definitely "there," but it's not overpowering.  It's a nice balance of the chocolate and root beer tastes, that still allows both to come through.  That being said, if you're truly not a fan of root beer, this cake is probably not for you.

Begin your cake batter by melting some semi-sweet chocolate and butter together with sugar and root beer.  Mmmmmmm ... sounds good already.

Let this cool in a mixing bowl ...

... and then add your dry ingredients.

Bake it up in a bundt pan.  Once it's out of the oven, immediately poke holes in the cake ...

... and pour on some root beer.

Take a deep breath, say a little prayer that your cake won't stick in the pan, and then turn the cake out ...

Whew!!!!  Success.

Cool the cake completely and then drizzle with root beer glaze. 

Just look at those rootbeer glaze pools that form as it trickles down the cake.  Yum.

And there you have it.  Gorgeous and tasty Chocolate Root Beer Float Cake to offload on share with your friends!

Chocolate Root Beer Float Cake
Source: Adapted from One Apron, as adapted from Food Network Magazine
(Printable recipe)
Ingredients
Cake:
1 stick unsalted butter
2 c. all-purpose flour
2 1/4 c. root beer, divided (total, this recipe uses just shy of two 12 oz. bottles or cans of root beer)
1 c. cocoa powder
2 oz. bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
1 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
1 1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs, beaten

Glaze:
2 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar
1/4 c. root beer
1 tsp. vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1 to 2 T. warm water, if needed


Directions
1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour (or spray generously with cooking spray) a 12-cup bundt pan or 2 loaf pans.  Tap out any excess flour.

2.  Heat 2 cups of root beer, cocoa powder, chopped chocolate, and the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts.  Add the granulated and brown sugars; whisk until dissolved.  Remove from heat and let cool.

3.  Combine flour, baking soda, and the 1 teaspoon salt.  Whisk the beaten eggs into the cooled root beer mixture, then gently fold in the dry ingredients.  The batter will be slightly lumpy.

4.  Pour batter into the prepared pan(s).  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes to one hour (mine took 50 minutes).

5.  When cake first comes out of the oven, gently poke the cake all over with a skewer or chopstick.  Pour 1/4 cup root beer over the cake.

6.  Let cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

7.  Once cake is cooled, make the glaze.  Whisk together the root beer, vanilla, confectioner's sugar, and pinch of salt.  Check consistency of glaze, and add warm water, a very small amount at a time, if needed to make a consistency for drizzling.  Drizzle over cake.

Enjoy!