Root Beer Cake with Chocolate Root Beer Ganache

-

 From King Arthur Flour website. Carla Hall uses root beer to give her grandmother's classic Coca-Cola cake recipe a twist. The moist chocolate cake has a uniquely spicy personality, thanks to the addition of fresh ginger, smoked cinnamon, and star anise.




  • 2 1/4 cups (270g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup (106g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon*
  • 1 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon star anise, ground
  • 1 1/2 cups (340g) root beer, flat or fizzy
  • 16 tablespoons (227g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup (21g) unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
  • 2 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (113g) buttermilk, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated fresh

*The original recipe calls for smoked cinnamon; if you can find it, by all means use it.

Ganache

  • 1/4 cup (57g) root beer, flat or fizzy
  • 4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
  • 2 cups (227g) confectioners' sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon star anise, ground
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-cup Bundt pan, a 9" x 13" pan, or two 9" round cake pans.

  2. 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.

  3. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla and stir into the flour mixture. Fold in the grated ginger.

  4. 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.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

  7. Storage information: Store any leftover cake, well wrapped in plastic, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Siri Daly's Sticky Ham Sandwiches/ Sliders GUEST BLOG

-
Image
Guest blog recipe by Katie for her friends party on New Years Eve. Siri demoed this on THE TODAY SHOW.  She said they were a huge hit and did't last long! 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter 1 tablespoon dry mustard 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon poppy seeds 1 package small sweet Hawaiian buns 1 pound sliced ham 1 pound sliced Swiss cheese 1. In a medium saucepan, bring butter, dry mustard, Worcestershire, brown sugar and poppy seeds to a boil in a saucepan.  Lower heat and let simmer for a few minutes. Set aside.   2. Slice buns in half and assemble sandwiches by adding desired amounts of ham and cheese. Place in a small baking dish (it helps if they fit snugly in there) and pour sauce all over, using a spatula to make sure they are all coated.  Cover with foil and let marinate in fridge for at least one hour, or overnight.  3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 325ºF. 4. Bake sandwiches for 10...
Read more

Mario Batali's Penne alla Vodka

-
Image
We made this for dinner tonight and Kevin kept raving about the smoky flavor to it and suddenly stated you need to blog this (which I already intended to). After he went back for his final last bite finally packed up the leftovers for his lunch tomorrow. We will be making this again ... and again!     6 slices Bacon 2 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced) 1 can Tomato Paste 1/4 cup Vodka 1/2 cup Heavy Cream Pinch Nutmeg 1 pound Penne 1 piece Parmigiano Reggiano (for grating)   Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook penne 1 minute short of the package instructions. Drain, reserving some pasta water for sauce. In a large saute pan, cook bacon over medium heat to render out fat. Cook for about 10 minutes until cooked but not too crispy. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook until garlic is fragrant and tomato paste darkens Stir in the vodka and cook for a few minutes to meld the flavors. Add cream and season with nutmeg and salt to taste. ...
Read more

Michael Symon's Ricotta Meatballs

-
Image
YUM YUM YUM !!! Michael made this back in May on the Today show and again finally getting around to making it! I made the full recipe - which made 22 meatballs. I prepared it to thru the browning meatball stage then saved 4 for meatball subs the next day and froze the rest in small b atches to have over pasta or his Mascarpone polenta in the future. We wished we had more than we did for the meatball sub lunch and Kevin kept commenting how good they were. We will definitely be defrosting for pasta this week!! I took a bite so you could see how fab the meatballs were. UPDATED PIC of meatball on fresh pasta! Pomodoro sauce 1/4 cup olive oil 1 small onion, finely diced (about 1 cup) 2 cloves garlic, minced 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 small bundle fresh oregano 1 small bundle fresh thyme Two 15-ounce cans whole peeled tomatoes, crushed with your hands Basil, to garnish Meatballs Olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup mince...
Read more