Root Beer Flavor Owners Manual: From Floats to Frosting

See 16 Ways to Use this Flavor

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This is the flavor of my youth. After the Friday night ball games, we would drive up and down the boulevard in Stevie's Ford, spotting all the pretty girls. If we knew them and were brave enough, we would honk or wave. After the requisite number of trips up and down the boulevard, we would pull into the drive-in where another pretty girl would take our order.

I was shy. I never got a date doing that, but I had lots of root beer floats. And it was a fun time with our buddies.

This is a fun flavor. Use your imagination and you'll have a lot of fun with it.  These ideas will get you started.

Old Fashioned Carbonated Root Beer

Caution:  Handling and using dry ice can be dangerous.  Please read the safety precautions before proceeding.

• 7 cups granulated sugar or to taste
• 4 gallons cold water
• 1 2-ounce bottle of root beer flavor, Marsden Bathe, or equal
• 4 pounds dry ice

Directions

1. In a large container, mix the sugar with about half of the water.  Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Add the root beer flavor and the remaining water.  There should be several inches of headroom at the top of the container to allow for gaseous expansion. 
2. Taste the beverage for flavor and sweetness.  Different brands of root beer flavor will differ in concentration.   You will likely want to add the remaining flavor, but taste it first.  You may want to add more sugar.
3. Being very careful not to touch the dry ice, add it with gloves.  (Dry ice will burn badly when it comes in contact with your skin.)
4. Loosely cover the container and let your root beer brew.  As the dry ice “melts,” it turns to CO2, a gas, with a much higher volume.  The gas in the liquid creates the carbonation.  If the lid is tight, the expanding gas will cause the container to explode.  If the container is not covered, the gas will escape without carbonating the beverage. 

Some gas must escape, and the expanding gas must be able to “lift” the lid without the vessel exploding.  Do not use a tight fitting, air tight lid.  Set the lid on top without fastening it.  Monitor the venting carefully. 

Your beverage should be carbonated in about an hour. 

Yield:  About five gallons

Safety Precautions: Misuse of dry ice may be harmful or fatal.

See the complete precautions.

1. Supervise children carefully when using dry ice.
2. Use in a well-ventilated location.  Dry ice ‘melts” to create CO2. If you are transporting or storing dry ice in the car, ventilate the car.  If you have trouble catching your breath or if you begin breathing rapidly, your room is not ventilated enough.  Leave the room immediately.
3. Use cotton gloves or towels when handling dry ice.  Do not let dry ice come into contact with your skin.
4. Store dry ice in an insulated container.  Do not put a tight lid on the container, or the rising gas pressure may cause it to explode.

Other Carbonated Beverages

It's not just root beer that you can make; you can carbonate almost anything.  If you carbonate frozen juices, that's better than you can buy. Any of the packaged punch drinks can be carbonated.

Bubba's Friday Night Root Beer Popcorn

We made the mistake of serving this in our store before we had the root beer flavor on the shelf. Oh, oh. Folks were really disappointed. But get some flavor and you and Bubba should have some great Friday nights.

Ingredients

1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1/4 cup white corn syrup (Karo)
1/8 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons Root Beer flavor
1 drop of Americolor Orange food coloring gel or equal

Yields 14 cups of candy popcorn. This recipe can also be doubled successfully.

Directions
1. Pop the popcorn kernels. Set aside in 2 large bowls.
2. Over medium heat, melt the butter in a medium sauce pan.
3. Add the corn syrup and water. Stir.
4. Add the sugar. Make sure not to let any sugar stick to the edges of the pan.
If one grain of sugar is left undissolved, it can cause the whole batch to
crystallize.

5. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until the mixture reaches 235-245 degrees.
(Please use a candy thermometer). It is important for the mixture to reach this
temperature, if it doesn’t, the candy will not harden properly.
6. Add the baking soda and stir quickly as the mixture begins to bubble. Once
bubbly and frothy, remove the pan from the heat.
7. Add the flavor and food coloring until mixed in.
8. Pour over the popped popcorn in both bowls. Fold into the popcorn until evenly
coated.

 

Root Beer Spice Cake Recipe

This interesting cake has just a touch of root beer flavor, but it comes out light and moist. Be sure to use root beer with sugar, not sugar-free.   

Ingredients

3/4 cup shortening
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tablespoon root beer flavor

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 tablespoons dry buttermilk powder
1/2 cup milk
1 12-ounce can root beer, not sugar-free

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and dust with flour a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.

1. Cream the shortening and sugar together. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Beat for 5 or 6 minutes until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the extract.
2. In another bowl, mix the flour, spices, salt, dry buttermilk, and baking soda together.
3. In three or four additions, add the dry ingredients and the liquids alternately to the creamed mixture, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. (Each time that we made this, we added the milk first, then one half of the soda pop, and finally, the rest of the soda pop.) Mix only until smooth.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool completely before frosting with your choice of frosting. 

 

Baker’s Note: When making a cake such as this, you are mixing oil (shortening) and water (soda pop and buttermilk)—which don’t mix. The egg yolks act as an emulsifier, a bonding agent between the oil and water molecules, and the flour absorbs much of the water. That is why you start with the flour addition—so that the water doesn’t overload the fat mixture before the flour is there to start absorbing water. It’s also why you add the liquids in stages between the flour additions.

 

Root Beer Butter Frosting

3/4 cup butter
about 5 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons root beer
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Root beer extract to taste

Cream the butter. Add half the powdered sugar and two tablespoons root beer. Gradually add the remaining powdered sugar, beating as you go. Add the nutmeg, vanilla, root beer extract, and more root beer as required to reach a spreadable consistency.

 

How Our Customers Use Root Beer Flavor

"I use this to make root beer float cupcakes. I put some in my cake batter and also in my frosting. Love it!"  Megan Berger

Suggestions from the internet:

Get creative! The unique, spiced flavor of root beer extract pairs well with chocolate, honey, citrus zest (orange or lemon), and other spices like cloves, star anise, or nutmeg.

Root Beer Syrup: Create a concentrated syrup for flavoring beverages, drizzling over desserts, or making snow cones.

Ice Cream: Use the extract to make homemade root beer-flavored ice cream or swirl it into a vanilla base.

Cakes and Cupcakes: Add a teaspoon or two to chocolate or vanilla cake batter and frosting for a "root beer float" flavor, often topped with whipped cream or a scoop of ice cream.

Cookies: Incorporate the flavor into sugar cookie dough or royal icing for a unique treat.

Fudge, Pies, and Puddings: The extract can be used to flavor a variety of confections, including root beer float fudge or pie.

Popsicles: Make root beer-flavored popsicles for a refreshing summer treat. 

BBQ Sauce: Add the extract to homemade or store-bought BBQ sauce to create a distinct flavor that pairs well with pork or chicken.

Marinades and Glazes: The flavor works well in marinades for meats like ribs and pulled pork, as well as in glazes for vegetables like eggplant.

Stews and Roast: Experiment by adding a small amount to stews or roasts to enhance the flavor profile.