Root Beer Cupcakes with Cream Soda Buttercream Frosting

🧂 Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup light brown sugar

  (packed)
• 2 large eggs

  (room temperature)
• ¼ cup vegetable oil
• 1 ½ teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ cup root beer syrup

  (reduced to ½ cup from 2 cups root beer)
• 1 cup root beer soda

  (room temperature)
• ½ cup butter

  (room temperature)
• 1 ½ cups confectioners sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
• 2 tablespoon cream soda syrup

  (reduced to ½ cup from 2 cups cream soda)

Instructions

• 1 I started out with 2 20 oz bottles of root beer and 1 20 oz bottle of cream
  soda; you will need almost an entire bottle for the reductions (you can also use
  root beer extract if you have it available, or the soda syrups used in homemade
  soda or Italian sodas). Reduce each soda down from 2 cups to a ½ cup by
  simmering for approximately 30 minutes.
• 2 Set your reductions aside to come to room temperature, then refrigerate the
  reduced cream soda syrup for use in the buttercream frosting.
• 3 Preheat your oven to 350℉ (175℃) and grease or line your muffin pan with cupcake
  liners. (this recipe usually makes 12-14 cupcakes)
• 4 In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and
  salt, and use a fork to combine the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl,
  beat together the brown sugar, eggs, and oil. Add the reduced root beer soda
  syrup, almond, and vanilla extracts and mix until combined.
• 5 Add the flour mixture (I like to add it in gradually while mixing the batter)
  until the dry ingredients are just incorporated into the wet batter and the
  batter is thick. Add the root beer soda and mix just enough to get an even
  batter consistency.
• 6 Divide the batter between your cupcake liners, filling each about ⅔ to ¾ full,
  then bake for 16-18 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool
  for about 5 minutes before removing from the muffin pan to cool completely on a
  wire cooling rack.
• 7 In a medium mixing bowl, beat the room-temperature butter until creamy and
  fluffy. Incorporate the cream soda, heavy cream, and confectioners sugar
  gradually by adding a drizzle of the cream soda reduced syrup (and the vanilla
  extract when starting), then a half cup of the confectioners' sugar. Followed by
  a drizzle of the heavy cream with a half cup of the confectioners' sugar.
• 8 Repeat until the confectioners' sugar has all been added. You may or may not
  need all of the liquid (cream soda syrup and heavy cream; if you have a little
  left over, that's fine). When you have all of the confectioners' sugar added,
  you need a firm but fluffy consistency that will pipe onto your cupcakes well.
• 9 Frost the cupcakes using a Wilton 21 piping tip by starting in the center and
  swirling out to the edges of the cupcake, then spiraling up and into a peak.
  Drizzle cream soda syrup over the cupcakes, if desired. Pulse root beer barrels
  in a food processor to make a fine, sugary dust (optional) to sprinkle on top.

Nutrition Info