These Vanilla Root Beer Cupcakes are made with a creamy Vanilla Root Beer Buttercream Frosting.
Making Memories
One of my fondest memories as a child was making root beer floats with my friends at slumber parties and sleepovers. We lived in a small town area and our local Walmart was where we did all of our shopping. On sleepover nights, we would do some shopping for the essentials for a teen girl's night - nail polish, magazines, and we'd grab some vanilla ice cream and A&W Root Beer while we were there.
Once we were home, we'd all pile into the kitchen with a 2 liter of Root Beer and some vanilla ice cream and we'd all take turns making our root beer floats. We would then head into the family room and watch either a comedy or a horror movie - sometimes both!
Another great memory I had as a child was stopping into the local mom-and-pop diner and ordered a tall root beer float with my grandmother. We didn't do it every weekend I spent with her, but we did it a couple of times a year. It was something I always looked forward to. These Vanilla Root Beer Cupcakes are made with a creamy Vanilla Root Beer Buttercream Frosting.
Now, my husband and I make root beer floats with our kids during movie nights, as well as on hot summer nights. It's a treat they always look forward to and it's, even more, special because I love the way my son giggles when the ice cream starts to fizzle and bubble to the top. I think it may just be his favorite part!
My daughter was really excited about getting creative with the cupcakes and wanted to top them with maraschino cherries and also stick cute straws in them to make them "look like a float". She really loved the flavor of the root beer buttercream frosting and was surprised that it tasted just like A&W Root Beer!
Vanilla Root Beer Cupcakes
My family always get so excited when I start creating cupcakes. They really enjoy taste testing the cupcakes and they especially enjoy taste testing the frosting! When I told them I'd be making root beer cupcakes they got really excited! They couldn't wait to help me decorate and they even wanted to garnish the frosting with cherries.
I always look for ways to give my children memories, no matter how small the moments may see right now I know that the older they get they will remember the times that "mom made root beer cupcakes" and it will make them smile.
So, while they were at school, I headed to Walmart and grabbed the essentials to make these delicious and flavorful cupcakes! I also picked up some maraschino cherries at the request of my daughter after heading to the soda aisles and stocking my cart with A&W Root Beer, I had to make sure that I had enough for everyone!
I circled back around after leaving the soda aisle and I ended up leaving with multiple 2 liters and 20 oz bottles because summer is coming and I know we have a lot of root beer floats in our future. They've already been requested at night during bonfires so I know it's on their minds already! Not to mention that my daughter is already planning her own slumber parties - might as well be prepared! It's a good thing I have a stand-alone freezer for the ice cream!
📖 Recipe
Vanilla Root Beer Cupcakes (Vanilla Root Beer Buttercream Frosting)
Vanilla Root Beer Cupcakes frosted with a creamy vanilla root beer buttercream.
Ingredients
Vanilla Root Beer Cupcakes
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs, room temp
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup root beer
Vanilla Root Beer Buttercream Frosting
- 4½ cups confectioner's sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ½ cup butter, unsalted, softened
- ½ cup shortening
- ¼ cup root beer
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° and line 16 muffin tin cavities with liners or grease tins well.
- In a large bowl, beat together room temp eggs, oil, vanilla, salt, buttermilk, and root beer.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, and baking soda.
- Gently beat the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients careful not to over mix.
- Fill the cupcake liners about ¾ of the way full and bake for about 18 minutes. Check with a toothpick to see if they are done.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting
Vanilla Root Beer Buttercream Frosting
- Beat together the softened butter and shortening.
- Add in the vanilla extract and the ¼ cup of root beer.
- Slowly beat in the confectioner's sugar.
- Frost cupcakes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Dana is an experienced recipe creator who crafts easy and delicious recipes for all levels of home cooks.
Her recipes range from classic comfort foods to healthy and nutritious meals, and she is always on the lookout for new and exciting ways to bring flavor and variety to the table.
Ellie Waters says
THIS IS A GREAT RECIPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!! The frosting is a little thicker than i wanted it to be, but it balances perfectly with the light and airy cupcake!
Grammy says
I tried the root beer cupcakes and frosting.The cupcakes were just okay and tasted healthy. Everyone at the office said they could not taste the root beer at all, the frosting had just a subtle hint of it but did taste very good and not too sweet. I bake at least once a week and like trying new recipes. I don't think I'll repeat this one.
Connie says
@Grammy, may need to add in root beer extract as I’ve seen in other root beer cake recipes. Can’t say I’ve seen this extract…but must be available. I’m simple… just have basics ..vanilla, lemon, banana or almond extract. Going to get some as the root beer cake sounds yummy!
Katy says
@Connie, Watson flavoring makes a root beer one!! Walmart sells Watkins products