Root beer bundt cake

Root Beer Bundt Cake

Honestly, I don’t even know what to say about this cake other than it’s one of the most delicious, yummiest, tastiest cakes I’ve ever had.  There just aren’t enough words to describe it without grabbing my thesaurus.  This recipe comes from Baked and I made it to take to friends who had invited us to dinner.  This was the last lonely piece that they sent home with us.  Normally, I’d never take the last piece of anything, especially if I’d taken the dessert to someone’s house in the first place, but all I could think about was how much I wanted to blog about this cake and that I couldn’t possibly blog about it without a photo.  How distressing to think that blogging has robbed me of good manners!

I’ll work on my social graces another time, but right now let me tell you about this cake.  It is just loaded with dark chocolate and root beer and that is a combination that can’t go wrong.  It was dark and rich and moist.  It also has the added kick of sea salt, which I love, but I took it a smidge further by sprinkling a little bit on top after I frosted it.  It looked awesome and that extra crunch of salt had people murmuring sweet nothings into their plates.

Seriously, this is a perfect cake.  And with a scoop of vanilla ice cream?  Some kind of paradise.  We didn’t find that it screamed “root beer” at us, but the root beer was a great compliment to the dark chocolate.  The flavor did get a little stronger the next morning, which I know because that’s when we all shared this teensy piece of cake.  The Baked guys say to replace 1/2 cup of the root beer with root beer schnapps if you want a more pronounced flavor, but I thought it was perfect just the way it was.

Recipe:  Root Beer Bundt Cake

(from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)

Cake:

2 c. root beer (do not use diet root beer)

1 c. dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 c. unsalted butter, cut into 1″ pieces

1 1/4 c. granulated sugar

1/2 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/4 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

Root Beer Fudge Frosting:

2 oz. dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

1 tsp. salt  (I used sea salt.)

1/4 c. root beer

2/3 c. dark unsweetened cocoa powder

2 1/2 c. confectioners sugar

sea salt, to sprinkle over top of fudge frosting

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Generously spray the inside of a 10″ bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.  In a small saucepan, heat root beer, cocoa powder, and butter over medium heat until 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.  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, until a small sharp knife inserted in the cake comes out clean.  Transfer 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.

To make the frosting, put all ingredients in a food processor.  Pulse on short bursts until the frosting is shiny and smooth.

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