root beer cake

This cake is so easy to bake, it’s silly. It’s retro-kitsch, right down to the boxed cake mix, and it’s very much the summertime twin of sherry cake. I made it for a group of teenagers this weekend who inhaled it, so if you have some of those hanging around, whip this up. This recipe comes from America’s Best BBQ by Ardie A. Davis and Chef Paul Kirk.

ingredients

4 large eggs
1 package yellow cake mix
1 package instant vanilla pudding
3/4 cup canola oil
12-ounce bottle root beer
1 cup powdered sugar

directions

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease a Bundt pan or tube pan. With an electric mixer, beat the eggs until thick and lemon colored. Add cake mix, pudding mix, oil, and 3/4 cup of the root beer. Beat on high speed for 5 minutes. Pour into pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out cake while still warm (or it will stick to pan). Place it right side up on rack and place rack over a sheet of parchment paper or wax paper to catch glaze drips.

To make glaze, mix 1/2 cup of the root beer with the powdered sugar in a small saucepan (drink the last few ounces of root beer in the bottle!). Warm over medium heat, stirring, until sugar dissolves then bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is syrupy, about 5 minutes. Poke holes all over the surface of the cake with a fork, then spoon the glaze over the top; it will drip down sides and soak into cake (you don’t have to use all the glaze; the cake will still be very sweet). When glaze has soaked in, carefully transfer cake to a serving plate or cake stand and serve or chill overnight.