As a Mom, one of my favorite things is trying to incorporate my favorite childhood memories and moments with my daughter. It was such a simple time being a kid am I right? We could stay up late as we wanted to (back when we thought 9pm was super late), play outside until the fireflies came out, and we loved being able to drink delicious soda (if Mom let us).
Being an adult now, I don't always want to act like a kid so I wanted to create a party with my neighbors and friends to remind us of the simpler times! One of my favorite games to play as a kid was Ring Toss!! I had a few cute wooden circles for guests to throw on some of the glass bottles. The holder was perfect for keeping the bottles in place. If guests didn't want to throw rings, I had bags and hopscotch for the kids to enjoy!
Cupcakes: 1 cup IBC root beer ½ cup IBC root beer syrup (2 cups of root beer simmered down to ½ cup) ¼ cup vegetable oil 2 eggs, room temperature 1½ tsp almond extract 1 tsp vanilla extract ½ cup of brown sugar 2 cups of flour 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¼ tsp salt
Whipped Cream Cream Soda Frosting: 1 cup of cold heavy whipping cream 2 tsp vanilla extract 1 tbs white granulated sugar 2 tbs cream soda syrup (2 cups of cream soda simmered down to ½ cup) +more cream soda syrup for drizzling
INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Simmer 2 cups of root beer soda until it reduces to ½ cup. Also, simmer 2 cups of cream soda until it reduces to ½ cup. Set aside the syrups (refrigerate cream soda syrup). 2. Preheat the oven to 350 and line the 12-cup muffin baking pan with cupcake liners. 3. In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat eggs oil and sugar until well combined. 4. Add the syrup, almond extract and vanilla extract. Mix well. 5. Sift in the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Mix, on low, until just incorporated. 6. Add the root beer and mix until all incorporated. 7. Separate the mixture between the 12 cups, filling them ¾ of the way. 8.Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. 9. Cool completely before frosting!
Frosting: 1. Cool the metal bowl and whisk attachment in the freezer for a few minutes. 2. Make sure the heavy cream and cream soda syrup is cold as well. 3. In a bowl on an electric mixer, combine heavy cream, cream soda syrup and vanilla extract. Start beating on low gradually increasing the speed to high every couple of seconds. 4. Slowly add the sugar while the cream is whipping. 5. Beat until stiff peaks appear. 6. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to frost the cupcakes. Frost the cupcakes and drizzle some cream soda syrup on top. Enjoy with friends, family members and neighbors!
What are your favorite drinks to enjoy?