Root Beer Chocolate Cake

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Mmmmm. Hmmmmm. Ohhhhhh. Yeeeeeaaaaaaa. That is what I thought to myself when I watched Carla from The Chew (I love that show. And I love her. Anthropologie lovers, Carla wears a lot of clothes from there, on the show) make her chocolate root beer cake. I went online to get the recipe and I was disappointed to see that the recipe for the cake part differed from the one she made on t.v. I gave it up until I saw that someone in the comments had geniusly used a boxed cake mix and substituted the water it called for for root beer.

I can do that, I thought.

But then I didn’t.

I drank the root beer and ate some chocolate cookies and considered the flavor craving dealt with.

I had forgotten that I know myself well enough to have purchased two bottles of root beer. So when I came across the other bottle sitting unsuspecting on the shelf. Minding its own business. Not knowing that soon it would be meeting its soul mate, chocolate. No need to tell it about the part involving the oven. And then my mouth. Let’s be kind… I had to make the cake.

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This is my new favorite cake. I am so excited to share this recipe. The best part about it is that it is incredibly easy to make. Well, and it tastes good. Our cake was gone in two days. We are a family of four. Two days. The math adds up to gluttony deliciousness.

Time to unite the star-crossed lovers…

Cake Ingredients:

1 devil’s food boxed cake mix
3 eggs
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup root beer plus 3 Tbsp. root beer reserved for cooled cake rounds

Frosting ingredients:

1 cup root beer
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup white chocolate melted (I used Merckens melting chocolates because I had it but she said to use white chocolate chips. Either will work)
A pinch of salt (I just added three shakes of my salt shaker)
1/2 cup (1stick) softened salted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. If you have a convection oven, preheat at 325 degrees F convect bake. Generously spray two nine inch round cake pans with nonstick cooking spray.

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In your mixer or with a hand mixer in a bowl, beat together melted butter, eggs, cake mix, and one cup of root beer until mixed together. This is about one minute.

Pour cake mix evenly into the two cake pans. Give them each a gentle tap on the countertop to rid them of extra air bubbles. Put the cake pans in the oven and bake cake according to directions on box. Because of the fluffy mix produced from the root beer, my cakes needed two minutes longer than the longest baking time on the package (I baked mine thirty one minutes on convect bake).

Remove cake rounds from the oven. Let cool for five minutes in cake pans.

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After five minutes, run a butter knife gently around the edge of the cake and the cake pan. Flip cake over onto cooling rack. Repeat with other layer. Allow to completely cool.

In the meantime, pour the one cup of root beer for the frosting into a small saucepan. On medium low heat simmer the root beer until it reduces to a third of a cup. I actually was overzealous with my simmer and reduced it to a quarter cup. This still worked out fine. This should be about five to seven minutes to reduce.

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It will look like this. Turn off burner. Allow to cool.

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Now that the cakes are cool, you are going to brush the cake layers evenly with the 3 Tbsp. of reserved root beer (not the reduced stovetop product! That is for the frosting) with a basting brush. Yep. Give the two lovers a wet root beer kiss.

Melt white chocolate (I put mine in a bowl and microwave for thirty second intervals, stirring each time. Usually takes 90 seconds to melt).

In your stand mixer or with your hand mixer in a bowl, beat together softened butter and powdered sugar until fluffy about two minutes. Add salt and mix. Add white chocolate and beat for a few seconds until incorporated. Add reduced stovetop root beer, and vanilla extract and blend until smooth.

I, very helpfully, do not have a picture of this part. I do, however, have a picture of me posing with the frosting. Which I have been told has nothing to do with is very important when baking a cake.

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Place one cake round with basted root beer side up on a cake stand. Spread one third of the frosting on the layer towards the middle, leaving a little room at the edges because when you put the other cake layer on top, it will push the frosting further out.

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Place the other cake layer on top of the frosted bottom layer. Frost top with remaining frosting. I like to place it in the middle and then gently ease it towards the edge until it barely goes over.

Cover or immediately serve.

Now eat the mingled lovers. Why does something that sounds so wrong taste so right? Don’t try to analyze it, just enjoy.

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My daughter has requested this cake as her birthday cake coming up in October. She doesn’t even usually like cake. My husband woke me up the day after I had made this at 9:00 in the morning holding a plate with a half eaten large slice of the cake that he could not resist for breakfast (this is not a breakfast cake. He just has as much self control as his wife). Maybe he was feeling the ingredient love.

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I promise, a bite of this cake , and you will feel the romance, too.

P.S. My Giveaway ends tonight at 9:00 PST. Please do not forget to enter.

Feeding My Etsy Beast: Vintage Maxi Skirts

I posted about a Vintage Maxi Skirt that I own on Tuesday. I felt bad that I could not link to it, because it was vintage and one of a kind. I had an idea. I found some maxi skirts that I think are gorgeous in a variety of sizes being sold on Etsy. Being vintage, it makes sense that these items sell out quickly. There is only one of them. Often times buying vintage means a cost savings, as well. There are many bohemian beauties I have my eye on at retail price in chain stores, but I cannot afford them right now. Vintage can mean getting something cool for less. It means no one in your town will be wearing that garment the same day as you. It is also being green. The sizes will vary. If you click on a link and it is sold out, I am sure more vintage items will pop up soon.

I am not affiliated with the sellers of the following skirts in any way. I have always had a beautiful experience shopping on Etsy (I have purchased from over 100 sellers), but please shop at your own risk. I have had contact with each of these sellers (in requesting to use their photos) and they were lovely. I would advise reading the product description carefully before purchasing. Most vintage pieces are nonreturnable.

Suzanne, from the blog Style Files, styles vintage pieces like nobody else. She is fun and sassy. I love her style. She wrote a super helpful post entitled “Top Tips For Shopping Vintage.” In fact she has a section on her blog devoted to vintage tips. I highly recommend checking it out.

I thought it would be fun to show some pretty vintage maxis that have caught my eye lately:

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Who can resist a fun green maxi skirt? This Sweet Green Floral Skirt is from Sunny Lizard. The waist for this one is thirty inches. The brightness of this skirt makes me long for days spent drinking lemonade by the pool. Great summer find.

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I love this Red Eyelet Skirt from Vintage Stew. In fact, it is on my personal wishlist. The only reason I did not scoop it up was because I have a very similar short red skirt all ready in my closet. This skirt features a 28 inch waist.

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I like plaid all year round. There is just somethin’ about it. This Colorful Plaid Skirt is so pretty. If only I had a twenty five inch waist to be able to wear it. It is being sold by Indie Style Society.

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I saw this amazing find and if I had a 34 inch waist, I would scoop it up. I love anything sky related. This Cool Zodiac Skirt is sold from the shop Bumblebee Buck. The pattern is awesome.

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Polka dots! I recently snagged a sweet white and black polka dot Free People maxi skirt at Nordstrom Rack. This reminds me of it. Except this one is vintage, so it is cooler. This Red Polka Dot Skirt has a 30-35 inch waist. It is being sold by the shop Pendulum Vintage. I love the sweet buttons on this one.

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I think this skirt is the closest to my vintage find from yesterday. The waist stretches to 24-29 inches. It is the Black Floral Appliqué Skirt from Cocoandmillie. I would style it exactly as seen here. It is exquisite.

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This Aztec Bird Skirt is so interesting. It is being sold from Red Hat Vintage with a high waist of twenty eight inches. I am been obsessed with pink lately. And this one is no exception.

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I love this Sunshine Skirt from Brass Giraffe Vintage. This skirt sports a 26 inch waist. I love the colors. My grandma’s favorite colors were green and yellow and I have found myself attracted to that combination lately. This eye candy fits the bill.

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This Strawberry Appliqué Skirt being sold from Victoria Westbury is amazing. I love the fabric with the cool design. Even though this skirt has a small fabric flaw, I think it is gorgeous. I love it shown with the red shoes here. It also has the best red polka dot ruffle underneath.

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Last but not least, is this Gorgeous Green Skirt. It is just a little too big for me with a twenty nine and a half inch waist. I love the colors of this. I think this skirt worn with a black t-shirt and long green necklace with silver sandals would be amazing. It is being sold from Momo Deluxe Vintage.

Do you shop vintage? What do you look for? Do you like this feature? Are you an Etsy addict like me? I love browsing the beautiful shops.