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If you love Root Beer Floats, then you definitely need to make these Root Beer Cupcakes that are made with not only root beer BUT root beer flavoring oil! These cupcakes are moist, delicious, and easy to make. Once you make these fun treats for your family, they will definitely want you to make them again!
Nothing says Summer like a frosty mug of root beer! There is just something about the taste of root beer that just makes life better. That's why I knew I had to try my hand at making cupcakes flavored with root beer! And believe me when I say that I am so glad that I did! They are so good! It's like biting into a root beer float! They are that good!
If you love thinking outside of the box when it comes to making cupcakes, I have a few other ideas that I think your family will love, such as my Spring Cupcakes, my Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cupcakes, and these fun Penguin Cupcakes.
Once you start thinking out of the box when it comes to making cupcakes, you will discover that the possibilities are endless!
🥘Ingredients
You will find a complete listing below of all of the ingredients that you will need in the recipe card that is at the bottom of the post. However, this is a small breakdown of a few of the key tips and ingredient suggestions.
- Vanilla cake mix - you can use either a store-bought mix or a homemade recipe. It is totally up to you.
- Root beer - any brand is fine.
- Root beer flavoring oil - you can find this at any baking store and on Amazon. It really gives you amazing flavor BUT it's very strong so be careful when using it.
- The eggs and oil are dependent on which cake mix you are using. It just so happened that’s what the cake mix I used called for. Each mix may use different amounts or call for different ingredients.
🔪Instructions
At the bottom of the post in the recipe card, you will find complete instructions.
🧾Substitutions
- Salted butter - you can use this in lieu of unsalted.
- Extract - you can use root beer extract instead of using flavoring oil.
📖Variations
Root beer barrel candy - add one of these on top instead of the cherries.
🥫Storage
To keep them fresh, store them in the fridge for up to three days. You may want to let them sit on the counter for a few minutes so they can come to room temperature before you enjoy them.
🍽Equipment
LorAnn Root Beer Flavoring Oil - you can usually find this at Walmart, your local baking store, or on Amazon.
- Muffin tin
- Red cupcake liners
- Piping bag
- ATECO 866 tip
- Cookie scoop
- Cake tester
- Large mixing bowl
- Mixer
🔎Top Tips
- When baking, make sure to always use unsalted butter. That way you can control the amount of salt in your baked goods. It’s really key to not having your cakes and cupcakes taste overly salty.
- When making this frosting, the key points to remember are that it is going to take time and a stand mixer will be key. It is going to be a lot of adding powdered sugar in a little at a time to get the right consistency to pipe.
- If you notice that your cupcakes are too hard on top, it may be due to your oven. Even though you set your oven temp at a certain temp, your oven still may be off. That's why it's so important to invest in an oven thermometer. These aren't too expensive and it's a great way to make sure your oven is actually on the temp you want it to be on.
❔FAQ
Root Beer Extract is the base for homemade Root Beer. Root Beer Flavoring Oil is a combination of anise, vanilla, and molasses flavors made into an oil. The oil is made from the ingredients itself whereas the extract is usually the ingredients mixed together with alcohol.
It's because you are trying to eat them when they are warm. Honestly, you will rarely ever not have that happen. It's one of the inevitable things when using paper liners. Cupcakes will stick to the liner. You can try using high quality liners. I've seen others suggest spraying the liners with non-stick cooking spray. But for me, it's never been a big problem. It doesn't bother me.
This usually happens when you have overmixed the batter. The cupcakes basically deflate.
Flavoring Oils are basically essential oils that have been extracted from the natural ingredient. It's also referred to as concentrated extract, candy oil, or candy flavoring oil.
📖 Recipe
Root Beer Cupcakes
Equipment
- Muffin tin
- Red cupcake liners
- Piping bag
- ATECO 866 tip
- Cookie scoop
- Cake tester
- large mixing bowl
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 15 oz vanilla cake mix
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup root beer
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- ½ tsp. root beer flavoring oil you can adjust this more or less, but a good starting point is ½ tsp
Frosting
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons root beer flavoring oil you can adjust this more or less, but a good starting point is ½ tsp
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4-6 cups powdered sugar
- 4-5 tablespoons root beer
- Maraschino cherries (optional)
- Red/white stripped straws (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven according to the directions on the cake mix.
- Prepare the muffin tin with the cupcake liners.
- Ina large mixing bowl, add in the cake mix, the flavoring oil, butter, the vegetable oil and eggs, and the root beer. Turn the mixer on low for 1 minute until the mixture is combined then turn the mixer to medium and mix together for two minutes.
- Using a cookie scoop, scoop out the batter into each cupcake liner and fill each liner about ⅔ full.
- Place the muffin pan into the oven and bake for 15 – 18 minutes. To check for doneness, use a toothpick or cake tester and place it in the middle of a cupcake. If it comes, out clean, they are done, if it’s not, put the cupcakes back in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes at a time until they are done.
- Once the cupcakes are done, let them sit in the muffin tin for approximate 10 minutes. Then remove them to a cooling rack to let them continue cooling.
- While the cupcakes are cooling, prepare the frosting.
- In a large mixing bowl, add in the softened butter, the flavoring oil, and the vanilla, and mix together using the whip/whisk attachment of your mixer and whip the ingredients together until thoroughly combined and it’s light and fluffy. This will take about 2 to 3 minutes. You are going to get the best results when making this frosting if you use a stand mixer.
- Once they are combined, start adding in the powdered sugar, ONE CUP AT A TIME.THIS IS CRUCIAL. DO NOT DUMP IT IN ALL AT ONCE. After you add a cup in, mix it all together until it’s thoroughly mixed, and you cannot see any of the powdered sugar in the mixing bowl. To ensure it’s all incorporated, use a spatula to scrape the bowl and move the frosting around. Continue this process until all of the powdered sugar is added.
- Once you get the powdered sugar added in, then slowly add in the root beer. BUT DO NOT ADD IN ALL OF THE ROOT BEER. Add in a little at a time until you get the desired consistency you are looking for. If you are planning on piping the frosting on, you will want the frosting to be able to hold up, so you do not want runny frosting.
- Also,at this point, taste your frosting. If you don’t feel that there is enough of a root beer taste, add in more of the flavoring oil. However, add just a little bit at a time. The oil is enormously powerful, and a little bit goes a long way.
- When your frosting is at the consistency you want, place the tip into the piping bag and cut off the end of the bag. Scoop the frosting into the bag and begin to pipe.
- Add the cherry on the top and cut a straw in half and place it into the frosting and through the cupcake.
- Enjoy!
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