Thursday, August 6, 2009

Root Beer Float Cake


The latest post from Mommy's Kitchen reminded me that today is National Root Beer Float Day. Last year we celebrated by making homemade root beer and faux ice cream and made our own floats. This year I decided to take it in a completely different direction, and invented a Root Beer Float Cake. Root beer flavored cake, spread with root beer flavored custard sauce, and topped with a fluffy egg white frosting. Yummy!


Root Beer Float Cake
Cake:
1/4 cup shortening
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. white sugar
1 egg
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. root beer extract

Custard:
1/2 cup milk
2 tbsp. sugar
1 large egg yolk
1/2 tsp. root beer extract

Frosting:
1 egg white, chilled
1 c. sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. boiling water
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x13 inch pan, or two 9 inch round pans.

Cream together the shortening and sugar. Beat in the eggs. Add the flour, milk, and vanilla, and beat to a soft smooth batter.

Bake 20 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Poke holes in warm cake.

While the cake is baking, make the custard:

Bring milk and sugar to a simmer in a saucepan without stirring. Whisk yolk (set white aside in fridge after separating to make frosting) in a bowl until blended, then gradually whisk in hot milk mixture. Return to saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens enough to coat back of a wooden spoon. Immediately remove from heat and stir in root beer extract. Pour over warm, poked cake and spread around (hmm, can you tell I used a fork to spread it?).


Cool briefly while custard soaks in a bit. Cover cake with plastic wrap and chill. After the cake is cooled, make the frosting:

Combine egg white, sugar, and cream of tartar in large bowl. Add boiling water. Begin at once to beat with electric mixer. Continue beating on high speed until thick and fluffy and mixture stands in stiff peaks. Add vanilla. Spread over chilled cake (there will be frosting left over).


P.S. It wasn't until I actually started the cake and wrote up the post that I read through the entire Mommy's Kitchen post and realized that she actually mentions root beer float cake! And here I thought I was being super creative and original by inventing one! Well, of course I had to Google it, and was relieved to learn that mine is definitely different from other root beer float cakes out there. After all, I did make it up all by myself!

9 comments:

Heidi said...

What a great looking cake. That icing looks like you could just jump right in it and bounce back! YUMMY :)

Welcome to the Garden of Egan said...

That looks delicious! Thanks for sharing.

Verification word: cream

Tina Butler said...

Look so good Stephanie. That frosting looks to die for.

American Homemaker said...

I make root beer float cake too, just a different way :)

Katy ~ said...

Both Sweetie-Pi and I really enjoy root beer so that cake is very appeal to me. When I next want a snack cake, I'm heading over here to try out this. Looks so delish!

Emily said...

hmm, that looks amazing! and the frosting looks so delicious, yet not too overbearing!

Spryte said...

That's so cool!! I bet my son would LOVE it!

~~louise~~ said...

Hi Stephanie,
Just wanted to thank you so much for posting this recipe for Root Beer Float Cake.

I just did a post celebrating Charles E. Hires, today is his birthday, and I "borrowed" your recipe link to include in my post.

I also "grabbed" your button! Thanks again...

Molly Jean said...

I still think you're super creative for thinking of it too! What a delicious idea :)