old-fashioned root beer

 It's summer!!! Yes, and I have been reminded of this fact every night for the past two weeks. How am I reminded you ask? Because I've been sweating myself to sleep.  I haven't been too inspired to turn my oven on and bake because of this heat, but then I saw the recipe for the Root Beer Bundt Cake. Yes, a cake with soda in it. Oh, and you melt a stick of butter into the soda.  It's funny because a friend of mine recently asked me if I was planning on baking some healthy treats.  My newest recipe probably answers her question loud and clear.

I love root beer. A few of the reasons i love it is because it reminds me of summer as well as baseball.  Why baseball? Because the most delicious root beer on the planet, in my opinion, is named after the great Harmon Killebrew, an old- fashioned slugger for my favorite baseball team, the Minnesota Twins.  To me it's fitting that they named an old-fashioned root beer after that classic ball player. Harmon actually recently passed away, so I guess this cake is in honor of him. 

I'm going to tell you the truth, this cake was incredibly easy to make.  Luckily I have a beautiful bundt pan, so my cake turned out looking exactly like it did in Food Network Magazine. I'm not bragging, I'm just saying! A woman named Claudia Sidoti came up with this recipe because she apparently loves root beer as much as I do. Thanks, Claudia. I'm sorry I have no idea who you are but apparently you're a Food Network television star. Way to go! Here is her recipe, made by me. Enjoy.

Root Beer Bundt Cake

1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for the pan

2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 1/2 cups root beer

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed DARK BROWN sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch

3 large eggs, beaten

2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan; tap out the excess flour.

2. Heat 2 cups root beer, the cocoa powder, chocolate and 1 stick butter in a large saucepan over medium heat until the butter melts.  Add the granulated and brown sugars and whisk until dissolved.  remove from the heat and let cool.

3. Combine 2 cups flour, the baking soda, allspice and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl.  Whisk the eggs into the root beer mixture, then gently fold in the dry ingredients (the batter will be slightly lumpy).

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through.  Transfer to a rack.  Gently poke the cake all over with a skewer and pour 1/4 cup root beer over the cake; let cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then invert the cake onto a serving plate and let cool completely.

5. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Whisk the remaining 1/4 cup root beer, a pinch of salt, the confectioners' sugar and vanilla in a bowl until smooth.  Drizzle over cake.

To be honest, this cake has more of a chocolate taste than a root beer taste, in my opinion.  Don't get me wrong, it's delicious, but I'm going to admit that I was a little disappointed that I couldn't taste the root beer a little more.  The glaze was delicious and root beer-ish enough, so I guess that makes it alright.  Oh, and this cake is so moist and fluffy.  This is one good cake. Hope you get a chance to try it!! Happy baking...

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