Root Beer Float Cupcakes

This weekend, my sister-in-law got married. (Congratulations!!) I had the great privilege to make cupcakes for the reception. Their theme was A&W (their initials), so we decided to do root beer float cupcakes. I scoured the internet for a suitable recipe, and tried a few different ones. Most ended up tasting more like spice cake than root beer. After a few less-than-satisfying attempts, I decided to try something different.

I took a basic marble cake recipe and threw in a couple small changes. These were the result:

The toppers have the wedding date "Since July 20, 2013," and their names.

And, of course, a giant cupcake for the couple to slice.

The hardest thing to find was the root beer extract. I ended up ordering some on Amazon. I went with Zatarain's and was very pleased, but I believe McCormick makes one as well.

Here is the recipe for a normal-sized batch (I tripled it to make 48 cupcakes plus the giant one).

Root Beer Float Cupcakes
(Print Recipe)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cups room-temperature butter
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp root beer extract

Line cupcake tins with baking cups. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside. Beat together butter, sugar, and vanilla until nice and fluffy. Add eggs one at time. Alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined.

Split the batter into two approximately equal portions (one will be your root beer and one will be your vanilla). Add the root beer extract to one portion. You may choose to add more or less, depending on taste.

Scoop some of the root beer batter into the baking cups, filling about 1/3 full. Top it with another scoop of the vanilla batter. Your cups should be about 2/3 full. Take a knife and swirl the batter together to create the marbling effect.

Bake cupcakes at 350° F for about 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. If you have a giant cupcake pan and decide to use it, it will probably take about 45-50 minutes to bake completely.

Once they have cooled, scoop some vanilla icing on top!

Root Beer and Vanilla Icing

2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean
1 cup room-temperature butter
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp root beer extract
3 cups powdered sugar

Heat cream in a saucepan just until warm. Split vanilla bean in half. Scrape the seeds into the saucepan with the cream. You can toss the whole pod in and let it soak together with the lid on for while. I found it helpful to start this process before starting on the cupcakes, just to give it time for the flavors to meld and the cream to cool down before attempting to make the icing. Once the cream has cooled to room-temperature, go ahead and strain out the vanilla pod bits and set it aside.

Beat the butter and salt together. Very gradually add half of the powdered sugar. It is best to do this one spoonful at a time. It's tedious, but it helps keep your icing from getting gritty. If you want creamy icing, do this part slowly!

After you've added half the powdered sugar, pour in the cream and extracts. Continue to beat in remaining powdered sugar, one spoonful at a time. As you near the end of it, give it a taste. You may not need to add all of the sugar, depending on how sweet you want it.

Let your icing set in the fridge for at least an hour. You want it pretty solid in order to facilitate scooping.

Top with crushed root beer barrel candies and maybe a little straw! These were a huge hit at the wedding, and I'm sure they will be well-received at any summer gathering.

Enjoy!