ROOT BEER FLOAT CUPCAKES (2024)

Published by Jessica on May 6, 2021

Root Beer Float Cupcakes are a fun & tasty spin on traditional Root Beer Floats! Root Beer flavoring in both the cupcake & the frosting make these soft & flavorful cupcakes perfect for a party!

These cuties have great flavor and my kids loved the festive touches. They’re perfect for Memorial Day barbecues and fun events. Made with a boxed cake mix base these cupcakes have been enhanced with root beer flavorings and soda so that every bite is incredible. The best part is that this recipe doesn’t require much effort and can easily be prepped in advance. Plan your next party or get together and remember to add these soda cupcakes to the dessert table.

What are root beer float cupcakes?

Rootbeer floats are a traditional drink and beverage but serving them up with a creative twist like this is always an unexpected surprise. We love these easy to make root beer flavored cupcakes and I’m sure you will enjoy them just as much. The cake base and the frosting both contain a great amount of root beer flavor in each so every bite is sure to be a delight!

Root Beer Float Cupcakes Ingredients

-Cake mix: The base of this cupcake recipe is a box of vanilla cake mix.

-Root beer: We want to use 1 cup of root beer soda in our cake mix base. This will help to get a great flavor and texture from the cake thanks to the carbonation.

-Root beer extract: To enhance the root beer flavor we want 1 tablespoon of root beer flavored extract. You can buy this in the baking section of your grocery store.

-Vegetable oil: We need fats in our cake to make it turn out moist and fabulous, so 1/2 cup of vegetable oil is perfect.

-Eggs: Just like the back of your cake mix box says, you’ll need 3 eggs to help bind the cake together and leaven properly.

For the Frosting, You Will Need:

-Butter: We want 1 cup of softened butter for the frosting (this is 2 sticks worth of butter).

-Root beer extract: One tablespoon of root beer extract means our frosting will be well flavored.

-Powdered sugar: To give our frosting a smooth consistency and sweetness we want 4-5 cups of powdered sugar.

-Root Beer: To help us thin down the frosting without taking away flavor we want to use 4-5 tablespoons of root beer soda, but the actual amount will vary, so add slowly.

How to make root beer float cupcakes

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F and line a cupcake pan with paper liners (this makes for an easier clean-up later).

In a large bowl, mix together the cake mix, root beer, the extract, oil, and eggs, until well combined.

Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake liners and fill them about 2/3s ord the way full.

Bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes and let cool completely before frosting.

Prepare the frosting by beating together the ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth.

Put the frosting into a bag and snip the corner. Pipe onto the cupcakes and top with a cherry for garnish along with a straw, if desired.Enjoy!

What kind of root beer should I use?

Use your favorite kind of root beer and you really can’t go wrong. Even if it means zero calorie, no sugar or another variety.

Where to find root beer extract?

You can find this in some grocery stores like Walmart or Kroger, it would be near other extracts in the baking aisle. Other stores may vary as it seems to not be as popular extract flavor as others but you can also look at online retailers if desired. While vanilla extract won’t give you as strong of a root beer flavor, it could be used in place of the root beer extract. The two are interchangeable but you will still have a very subtle rootbeer flavor and no nearly as strong as if you used the extract itself.

If you liked these Root Beer Float Cupcakes you may want to try a few of our other favorite Summer dessert recipes:

• Easy Kool Aid Sherbet
• Little Lemon Drops
• Strawberries and Cream Bites
• Raspberry Meltaway Cookies
• Mint Chocolate Pudding Cookies
• Copycat Swig Cookies
• Harry Potter ButterBeer recipe
• Strawberry Banana Ice Cream Float
• Fruity Summertime Treats
• Glazed Strawberry Bundt Cake
• Banana Split Pie
• Flower Pot Cookies
• Easy Lemon Cheesecake Bars
• Cookie Salad
• Cookies and Cream Ice Cream Sandwiches
• Rich and Creamy Grape Salad

Root Beer Float Cupcakes are a fun & tasty spin on traditional Root Beer Floats! Root Beer flavoring in both the cupcake & the frosting make these soft & flavorful cupcakes perfect for a party!