Frankie's Root Beer Float Cake

Root beer hasn't been around too long in South Africa, but I have many fond memories of root beer floats from my childhood. In fact, I was rather sad to realise it wasn't available when I first moved to Durban in 2004.

However, a few years later I was horseback riding in the Drakensberg, and started chatting to the lovely people at the stables. Lo and behold, they were brewing their own root beer! Now, years later, Frankie's sodas are available pretty much everywhere in South Africa... root beer floats for all!

This cake was a fun experiment, and the first time I had ever used my bundt pan. Chocolate root beer cake is dense and rich, with a slight hint of that 'good old-fashioned' root beer flavour to cut the sugaryness (which is, according to spellcheck, a word I just invented). I made this a little while ago for my Games Club, and it was an immediate hit!

Root Beer Float Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups Frankie's Root Beer
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 extra-large eggs
2 teaspoons root beer extract (optional)

Preheat your oven to 175°C, and spray the inside of a bundt pan generously with non-stick spray. And I mean generously!

Add the root beer, cocoa powder, and butter to a medium saucepan and melt over medium heat until combined. Whisk in sugars until dissolved and set aside.

Combine flour, salt and baking soda in a bowl.

In another bowl, beat the eggs, then add to root beer mixture. (At this point you can add the root beer extract for a more intense root beer flavour, but I know it's hard to come by in South Africa and it's not totally necessary.)

Fold the flour into the root beer mixture and beat gently (I prefer using a whisk). The batter should be slightly lumpy, make sure you don't overmix it!

Pour the batter into the bundt pan and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

*IMPORTANT*

The secret to unmoulding a bundt cake is to allow it to cool completely before turning it over. If it's still hot, the whole thing can easily fall apart! Be very patient and let it cool completely before inverting onto a plate. Once unmoulded, refrigerate while you make the icing.

Whipped Cream Frosting

250ml whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 cups icing sugar, sifted

Combine the whipping cream and vanilla in a bowl, and slowly beat in the icing sugar. I'll be honest, I never measure this very closely, and just keep adding until it's the right consistency (which is stiff enough to hold its shape and not run down the sides of the cake!)

I just glopped the icing around the top of the cake with a spoon to get a lovely, foamy 'root beer float' look, but you could be more artistic if you like.