Chocolate Root Beer Cupcakes

  
When I started getting ready to promote the Friends Food Family Blog, I came across a very interesting food blog called gastronomy. I was really impressed with the site. They had showcased a recipe called Root Beer Bundt Cake. It had come from a cookbook called Baked: New Frontiers in Baking, written by Baked, a bakery in New York City. If you have time, check out both sites, they are fun and offer great food products and services.

Since Christmas with Root Beer Schnapps in hand, I've been wanting to make this cake. Yesterday, I had a spare hour and thought I'd take on the cake. Next thing I knew, the oven was being used for a number of things...proofing bread, corn bread for the chili...and I found I had 30 minutes not 1 hour.

So, why fret, make cupcakes. I took the recipe and made 30 chocolate root beer cupcakes. My son, Stephen, and I had to try them first, even if they were hot and unfrosted. They were delicious and had a wonderful aftertaste of root beer. I frosted the cupcakes and covered them until this morning. So, for breakfast I enjoyed a cupcake with a big cup of coffee (Oh, another breakfast of champions). The cupcake was even better with the frosting, but the root beer was more of a hint than a strong flavor.

If you need a quick dessert for kids or adults, especially with Valentine's Day coming, consider these over your average chocolate cupcakes. I'm bringing them to a Super Bowl Party tonight. Results in the morning!

Ingredients for the Cupcakes

• 2 cups of root beer (do not use a diet root beer)
• 1 cup of dark cocoa powder, like Valrhona
• 1 stick unsalted butter, chopped into 1 inch cubes
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 1/2 cups dark brown sugar (packed)
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs

Baked Note: If you can find root beer schnapps, substitute 1/2 cup of root beer with root beer schnapps. The root beer flavor will be more pronounced.

Ingredients for Frosting

• 2 ounces of 60% chocolate (melted and slightly cooled)
• 4 oz unsalted butter (room temperature)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup root beer
• 2/3 cup dark cocoa powder
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Preparation for Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 325º degrees.

Line the cupcake tins with liners, if you don't have liners, spray with Pam and lightly flour, tapping out the excess flour.

In a small saucepan, heat root beer, cocoa and butter over medium heat until butter is completely melted. Add both sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove mixture from heat to cool.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl, whisk eggs until just beaten, then whisk into cooled cocoa mix until combined.

Gently fold flour mixture into chocolate mixture. Mixture will be slightly lumpy—Do not over-beat which could cause the cake to be tough.

Pour mixture into cupcake tins, I used a 1/3 measuring cup to pour . Fill about 2/3 full. Bake approximately 30-35 minutes. Rotate tins half-way through bake time. Cupcakes will spring back to touch, or use a toothpick, coming clean.

Cool cupcakes on rack. Make sure they are cooled completely before adding frosting.

Preparation for Frosting:

Place all ingredients, chocolate, butter, salt, root beer, butter, and confectioners sugar, in a food processor. Pulse in short burst until fudge frosting is shiny and smooth. Use a spatula to spread the fudge frosting over the tops of the cupcakes. Let frosting set before serving.

 
The next time I make these I'm going to try a vanilla bean frosting. What better than a root beer float cupcake.