Root Beer Bundt Cake

I am the messiest baker. ever. I leave the cabinets open and use every bowl, pan and utensil I can reach. I rarely finish baking something without spilling on the floor or exploding flour all over the counter while shooting it into my hair at the same time. Today it was a tragic accident with melted chocolate and my favorite white t-shirt. Maybe it's about time I invest in an apron or learn to not wear favored clothing in the kitchen.
Not only am I messy but I may also be the most awkward baker ever. I manage to screw up whenever someone is watching, I look stupid, make bad decisions and I almost always choose the absolute worst time to bake something. For example, my aunt and uncle were over tonight and I decided to bake this lovely cake once they arrived. I ran out of powdered sugar and decided instead of going to buy some I would make my own. I had to leave the blender on for about 15 minutes- if the loud blaring noise wasn't bad enough the room started to smell like a burning motor as the blender was obviously being overworked. Woops. Awkwardness is my gift.

Anyway, this cake was a bit out of the ordinary, but the recipe came from the Baked cookbook which I feel can do no wrong. The root beer bundt cake uses dark chocolate cocoa and lots of root beer to make this cake super moist and rich. Collectively we decided that the root beer flavor was not very strong, in fact we barely tasted it at all - instead it tasted like a fabulously decadent chocolate cake.

Try not to drop the whisk of hot melted butter and chocolate onto your clothing or interrupt casual conversation with the obnoxious noise of a blender.



Root Beer Bundt Cake
Adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the Cake:

2 cups root beer (regular, no diet)
1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs

Root Beer Fudge Frosting:

2 ounces dark chocolate (60% cacao), melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup root beer
2/3 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Spray inside of bundt pan with cooking spray. In a small saucepan, heat root beer, cocoa powder and butter over medium heat until the butter is melted. Add the sugars and whisk until dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt. In a small bowl whisk the eggs until just beaten, then whisk them into the cooled cocoa mixture until combined. Gently fold the flour mixture into the cocoa mixture. The batter should be slightly lumpy, be careful not overmix as it may cause the cake to be tough. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and cake for 35-40 minutes. Allow cake to cool completely on wire rack before removing from the pan.

Fudge Frosting:
Put all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse in short beats until the frosting in shiny and smooth. *I used a kitchen aid mixer, it worked fine.

Use a spatula to spread the frosting onto the crown of the bundt cake in a thick layer. The book suggests that this cake be served with ice cream to give it a root beer float taste.