Easy and delicious 4-ingredient root beer cupcakes made using actual root beer!
Ingredients
For the cupcakes:
1cuproot beer
16.25ouncewhite cake mix(1 box)
For the buttercream:
2cupsroot beer*see notes
1cupbutterroom temperature
3-4cupsconfectioners sugar
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° F. Line two muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
Place the 2 cups of root beer for the buttercream in a saucepan and set over high heat. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium to simmer until reduced to approximately 1/2 cup. Pour into a mason jar and place in the fridge to cool.
Meanwhile, prepare the cupcakes: In a large mixing bowl, beat the cake mix and 1 cup root beer until light and completely combined (about 2 minutes). Fill each cupcake about 2/3 of the way full.
Bake the cupcakes for 18-22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the cupcakes to cool for 10 minutes in the tray then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely while you prepare the buttercream.
Place the butter and powdered sugar in a large mixing bowl and beat until well combined (about 2 minutes). Add 2 Tablespoons of your reduced root beer syrup, then taste and adjust with more root beer syrup as needed to reach desired taste and consistency.
Transfer buttercream into a piping bag and pipe onto cooled cupcakes, starting at the edge and moving into the center. Place a maraschino cherry on top of each cupcake before serving, if desired.
Notes
You can use 1 teaspoon root beer extract plus 2-3 Tablespoons milk instead of reducing the root beer for the buttercream.Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or for up to 1 week in the refrigerator. Note: remove cherries before storing at room temperature.If you would prefer to add milk to the buttercream you can skip step #2 and replace the root beer in the buttercream with 2-3 Tablespoons of milk plus 1 teaspoon root beer extract.