Root Beer Cake with Chocolate Root Beer Ganache
For a wonderful Bundt cake to serve for any occasion, try Root Beer Cake with Chocolate Root Beer Ganache. This dessert is off the charts with it’s root beer-spiced flavor, melt-in-your-mouth cake and thick, spiced ganache. You will feel like you’ve had your first taste of heaven!
While a “soda” cake may sound odd to some, this outstanding cake will be familiar to anyone from the South. It’s not a new concept and can be traced back to the 1960’s. Typically, this cake is made with Coca-Cola and marshmallows, but to lessen the overly sugary flavor, I’ve opted for spicy root beer and eliminating the marshmallows. I think you will agree that it’s a good adjustment from the traditional cake!
Begin this cake by combining all of the dry ingredients together. In a sauce pan, bring the root beer, butter and cocoa powder to a bowl. Once cooled, combine with the flour mixture.
In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk and vanilla and add to the flour mixture. Add a little grated ginger and transfer to a prepped Bundt pan. Bake this bad boy for about 50 minutes.
Once completely cooled, make the ganache by heating rootbeer in a sauce pan and adding the butter and cocoa powder and stirring until nice and smooth. Transfer it to a bowl and add the confectioners’ sugar, delicious spices (nutmeg, star anise and salt) and pour the ganache over the cake while it’s still warm.
The ganache is thick and oozy and drapes itself over the cake like a warm blanket.
This cake is unique and truly outstanding! Give it a try!!
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Root Beer Cake with Chocolate Root Beer Ganache
Makes: 12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 45 minutes
Ingredients
Cake:
- 2 & 1/4 cups (270g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp star anise, ground
- 1 & 1/2 cups root beer, flat or fizzy
- 16 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated fresh
Ganache:
- 1/4 cup root beer, flat or fizzy
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 & 1/2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 1/8 tsp star anise, ground
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan, a 9″ x 13″ pan, or two 9″ round cake pans.
To Make the Cake:
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, baking soda, salt, and spices. In a medium saucepan, bring the root beer, butter, and cocoa powder to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat, cool for 5 minutes, then mix into the flour mixture.
In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture. Fold in the grated ginger.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan(s) and bake for 50 minutes for a Bundt cake, 35 minutes for a 9″ x 13″ cake, or 33 to 35 minutes for 9″ layers, until the edge of the cake begins to pull away from the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven. Gently loosen it from the pan around the edge, if you can. Place a cooling rack on top, across the surface of the cake. Very carefully turn the cake and rack over so that the cake (in its pan) is resting on the rack. Wait 15 minutes, then carefully lift the pan off the cake, jiggling it gently first to make sure it’s not stuck.
To Make the Ganache:
In a small saucepan, bring the root beer to a boil over medium heat. Add the butter and cocoa powder, stirring until smooth. Pour the mixture into a large bowl, then whisk in the confectioners’ sugar, spices, and salt until smooth and glossy. Pour over the top of the cake while still warm.
Storage information:
Store any leftover cake, well wrapped in plastic, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Chef’s Notes:
This cake is fairly delicate; if your Bundt pan is more detailed than most, or otherwise has any nooks and crannies that might “trap” the cake, be aware that the cake might stick and crumble. For that reason, we recommend using a Bundt pan with a simpler design for this cake, like the Original Classic Bundt or the Party Bundt.
If you can only find whole star anise, blitz the whole thing — pod and seeds — together in a spice grinder until finely ground. Use the same amount of freshly ground star anise as called for in the recipe. If you can’t find star anise, simply omit it from this recipe.
Recipe by Carla Hall
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