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Happy #SundaySupper! To celebrate this long US holiday weekend, we are sharing our favorite cook-out foods. Labor Day marks the end of summer, but why do we celebrate Labor Day? It’s not like everyone has the day off. I used to work in retail, and I almost always worked holidays. In fact, I purposely volunteered for holidays so I would get paid time and a half. I did some research, and it looks like Labor Day was established for labor unions to have a day off. I’m sure those hard working men and women would love to have come home to an ice-cold root beer float. I know I love them when it’s ridiculously hot outside. However, root beer floats don’t travel very well to potlucks and cook-outs. Cupcakes do, which is why I baked some Root Beer Float Cupcakes topped with Vanilla Cream Frosting. Yes, folks, that is not ice cream. That is pure frosting.
I wanted to celebrate the end of summer with Root Beer Float Cupcakes. I saw the idea of scooping frosting on top of cupcakes instead of piping from The Spiffy Cookie. That kinda looked like ice cream. What if I did a play on root beer float where the cupcake was root beer and the frosting was vanilla “ice cream”? I put vanilla bean and a little bit of heavy cream in the frosting to mimic ice cream, so it’s not a straight-up vanilla buttercream.
You do have to buy one speciality item – root beer float extract. There really is no way of getting that root beer flavor without it. Before you start complaining about buying a pricey ingredient you’ll use only once, you can make homemade root beer, root beer cookies, and root beer lollipops with it. I don’t eat lollipops, but the other two recipes are on my list to make.
As you can see, there is a ton of frosting on top. I’m not the type to eat *that* much frosting, so you’ll have to decide if you want that much or if you just want to pipe some on, which would result in not using as much. Alternatively, you can use a smaller scoop. It won’t cover the whole surface, but it definitely would be less frosting. For the straws, I cut off the top part of bendy straws and stuck them into the frosting. If you don’t mind making a mess, pour hot fudge sauce on top. You may want to use a bowl for easy eating (and clean up).
The cupcake itself is chocolate and root beer. I added a bit of cinnamon and all spice to bring out the root beer more. It tastes like, well, root beer. If you concentrate really hard, you can almost imagine the fizz from the root beer.
Root Beer Float Cupcakes
Use an ice cream scoop to scoop on the frosting for presentation.
Serves: 8 cupcakes
Ingredients
Cupcakes
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 Tbsp cocoa
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground all spice
- 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp root beer extract
- 1 tbsp sour cream
- 2 ounces root beer
Frosting (if scooping instead of piping, double the recipe)
- 1 vanilla bean
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- Pinch of salt
- Hot Fudge Sauce (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a cupcake pan with 8 liners.
- For the frosting: warm the cream in a small saucepan. Remove from the heat. Cut a slit down the middle of the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds into the cream. Add the vanilla bean itself. Cover and let seep while you make the cupcakes.
- For the cupcakes: in a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and all spice. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg and sugar until smooth. Whisk in cream, butter, vanilla, and root beer extract. Whisk in sour cream. Whisk in the dry ingredients then whisk in the root beer. Scoop into cupcake liners and bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool. If you’re not making the frosting right away, refrigerate the vanilla-infused cream.
- For the frosting: In a large bowl on medium speed, beat together the sugar, butter, and salt until creamy for 2-3 minutes. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, another 2-3 minutes. Strain the cream into the bowl; save or discard the vanilla bean for another use. Beat the frosting until smooth. Pipe or scoop the frosting onto the cooled cupcakes. Pour on hot fudge sauce, if desired.
Source: Cupcakes adapted from How Sweet Eats; Frosting adapted from 125 Best Cupcakes Recipes by Julie Hasson
Need ideas for your Labor Day cook-out? Check out what the rest of the #SundaySupper crew is making:
Starters & Snacks
- Lobster Salad with Avocado, Corn and Tomatoes by The Girl in the Little Red Kitchen
- Grilled Vegetable Spread by Magnolia Days
- Toast Topper #8: Tomato Confit for #SundaySupper by Yummy Smells
- Honey BBQ Wings and Cool Ranch by Big Bears Wife
- Finger Lickin’ Chicken Drumettes by Noshing with the Nolands
Main Dishes
- Baked Shrimp and Pasta Caprese by Mama’s Blissful Bites
- Korean chili by Crispy Bits & Burnt Ends
- Newfangled Cowtown White Chicken Chili by Shockingly Delicious
- Strawberry BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches by The Weekend Gourmet
- Spicy Seoulful Pulled Pork Sandwiches by Kimchi Mom
- Smoked Pork Butt (A How-To) from Juanita’s Cocina
- Soy Glazed Chicken Thighs by The Messy Baker Blog
- Stuffed Green Chili con Queso Cheeseburger Sliders by Damn Delicious
- Adana kebab by Small Wallet, Big Appetite
- Portabello Paninis by The Hand That Rocks the Ladle
- Bloody Mary Skirt Steak by From Fast Food to Fresh Food
- Tuna and Roasted Pepper Packets by Cindy’s Recipes & Writings
- Mint Marinated Beef Kabobs with Garlic Sauce by Sustainable Dad
- Creamy Latin Style Pasta by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
- Spicy Portuguese Style Sliders by Daily Dish Recipes
- Aromatic Glazed Salmon by Happy Baking Days
- Pork sliders by Basic ‘N Delicious
- Foil Packet Chicken by In the Kitchen with Audrey
Salads & Sides
- Mom’s Savory Pork’n’Beans by Webicurean
- Ranch Potato Salad by My Catholic Kitchen
- Gluten Free Penne hot salad with basil, asparagus, cherry tomatoes fresh mozzarella and chicken with a mustard vineagarete for #SundaySupper by Cooking Underwriter
- Southern Surprise Potato Salad by Granny’s Down Home Southern Cooking
- #SundaySupper Marinated Ginger Chicken & Spinach Salad by Kwistin’s Favorites
- Roasted Potato & Corn Salad w/ Bacon by GirliChef
- Vegan Caprese Salad by Galactosemia in PDX
- Picnic Friendly Grilled Vegetable Salad by Mama Mommy Mom
- Smokin Hot Caribbean Spiced Corn-On-The-Cob by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
- Potato salad with Stilton and bacon by Tora’s Real Food
- Tomato Feta Orzo Salad by Family Foodie
Drinks
- Frozen Sangria by Supper For a Steal
- Persian mint & cucumber cooler (sekanjabeen) by Family Spice
Desserts
- lightened lemon pound cake by The Meltaways
- Root Beer Float Cupcakes by Chocolate Moosey
- Strawberry Cream Squares by Dinners, Dishes and Desserts
- Fresh Mango Pie by La Cocina De Leslie
- Brown Butter M&M Cookies by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Gluten Free Lemon Blondies by No One Likes Crumbley Cookies
- Blueberry Lemon Cream Cheese Coffee Cake by Baker Street
- Strawberry Pie + White Sangria by Vintage Kitchen Notes
- Grilled Banana Splits by Diabetic Foodie
- Easy Desserts: Frozen Chocolate Bananas by Home Cooking Memories
- Ice Cream Sandwich Cake by Comfy Cuisine
- Blueberry Lemon Whoopie Pies for a Holiday Cookout #SundaySupper by In the Kitchen with KP
Wine Pairings
- Labor Day Cookout Food And Wine Pairings by ENOFYLZ
Please be sure you join us on Twitter throughout the day during #SundaySupper. We’ll be meeting up at 7:00 p.m. EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat where we’ll talk about our favorite cookout recipes!
All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag, or you can follow us throughTweetChat!
We’d also love to feature your Cookout recipes on our #SundaySupper Pinterest board and share them with all of our followers!
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This is so clever! I love root beer anything!
I’m all over root beer and made the mistake of introducing it to my kids. They would all over these cupcakes, frosting and all!
I LOVE root beer! Got to try this, Carla! Thanks for sharing!!!
I’ll eat the frosting and leave the cake. ;) GORGEOUS!!!
What a genius idea! Your cupcakes are super-duper cute! I had no idea there was root beer flavored extract. I’m going to have to add that to my list of ingredients I want my friends to send me down here in Mexico. And now I’m totally craving a root beer float. :)
These are some of the cutest cupcakes I have ever seen!
My mom loves root beer floats. I know what I’m making her for her birthday! So creative.
Theyre so cute! If my sister liked root beer she’d be all over this amount of frosting too :-D
So fun! I’ve made rootbeer cupcakes before with the straws as garnish and everybody adored them. I love your idea of rootbeer floats, though…the scoop of ice-cream looking frosting is awesome!
These look pretty good, I’d serve them still warm and scoop real icecream on top. I’m not a big lover of icing.
I love the flavor of root beer…gonna have to pick up some of the root beer concentrate and try these. These are so adorable too!
These are so cute! I’ll bet they’re delicious too!
It’s so pretty I might have a hard time eating it!! YUM!
Such a great idea!! Looks fabulous!! Thanks again for all your continuing help!!
Absolutely ingenious idea Carla! Love it, they look wonderful. Happy sunday!
These may be the cutest cupcakes I have ever seen. Love them!
What a fun cupcake! Great flavor for kids and adults!
They look so yummy!
Holy moly! I need to get my hands on that root beer concentrate! These are just too pretty, Carla! :)
I am drooling that looks so good. I adore anything with root beer
I have never heard of root beer concentrate. These sound so interesting, wish I could try a bite
Oh Carla! You found my week spot. I love root beer and I love it even more with ice cream in it. I’ve been thinking about baking some cupcakes and wanted a special recipe. This is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
Yum, I love root beer floats what a great idea!
Carla, these cupcakes look absolutely amazing. I love that the frosting looks like a big ol’ scoop of ice cream. I didn’t know McCormick made root beer concentrate. I need to get me some.
This is pretty awesome! And I love the presentation!
I love the presentation of these! How fun!
Jamie @ http://www.mamamommymom.com
This looks so delicious! Really creative recipe. Nice job
That actually looks about right if not a little light on the icing. I know around here you can find a ice cream sundae topping that is flavored like A & W Rootbeer. That would be yummy down over the top of these. It can be found in the aisle with the other ice cream toppings.