Root Beer Float Poke Cake
Sometimes I wonder if I could do a food blog with all the stuff I cook. It's probably doable, but I can't be arsed.
The other day, a friend of mine made something called a Banana Pudding Poke Cake (he posted pictures of it on FB, I didn't actually eat any), which got me researching what the heck a "poke cake" was (I'm such a scientist, can't you tell?) and after reading for a bit I thought for sure that there must be other poke cake possibilities. We had some leftover root beer from our baby shower that no one wanted, and since the hubs and I don't drink soda, I decided I should try and make a root beer float poke cake. The problem I've noticed with poke cake recipes online is that the first step is to buy a box of cake mix. No no no no no! That goes against everything I know about making cakes. I never use cake mixes, I only bake from scratch.
So, I simply modified a recipe I had for Fantakuchen and came up with this:
For the cake:
2 eggs
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup oil (NOT OLIVE OIL-- I used canola)
3/4 cups Root Beer
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping:
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1 container cool whip
Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Add flour and mix, then the Root Beer and mix well. At the end, mix in the baking soda then turn immediately into an ungreased 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish (for a 9×13 baking dish, double the recipe-- but remember to double the topping amount too to cover it all).
Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.
Meanwhile, make pudding according to directions on box. Using the back of a wooden spoon, poke a series of holes in the top of the cake all the way down to the bottom of the cake. Pour pudding over the cake, making sure it gets into the holes. Let it chill in the fridge until pudding gets firm and then spread some cool whip on top (we used about half the container).
At this point, my husband and I were both a little flummoxed that I'd actually decided to use cool whip. I can't believe I bought cool whip instead of making my own whipped cream from heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. Next time, we'll make it even MORE from scratch! Also, we have been using whole wheat bread flour instead of unbleached all purpose flour for years now and have never noticed a problem with "heaviness" in our baking.
Enjoy.
The other day, a friend of mine made something called a Banana Pudding Poke Cake (he posted pictures of it on FB, I didn't actually eat any), which got me researching what the heck a "poke cake" was (I'm such a scientist, can't you tell?) and after reading for a bit I thought for sure that there must be other poke cake possibilities. We had some leftover root beer from our baby shower that no one wanted, and since the hubs and I don't drink soda, I decided I should try and make a root beer float poke cake. The problem I've noticed with poke cake recipes online is that the first step is to buy a box of cake mix. No no no no no! That goes against everything I know about making cakes. I never use cake mixes, I only bake from scratch.
So, I simply modified a recipe I had for Fantakuchen and came up with this:
For the cake:
2 eggs
3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup oil (NOT OLIVE OIL-- I used canola)
3/4 cups Root Beer
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For the topping:
1 package instant vanilla pudding
1 container cool whip
Whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla and oil. Add flour and mix, then the Root Beer and mix well. At the end, mix in the baking soda then turn immediately into an ungreased 8×8 or 9×9 inch baking dish (for a 9×13 baking dish, double the recipe-- but remember to double the topping amount too to cover it all).
Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.
Meanwhile, make pudding according to directions on box. Using the back of a wooden spoon, poke a series of holes in the top of the cake all the way down to the bottom of the cake. Pour pudding over the cake, making sure it gets into the holes. Let it chill in the fridge until pudding gets firm and then spread some cool whip on top (we used about half the container).
At this point, my husband and I were both a little flummoxed that I'd actually decided to use cool whip. I can't believe I bought cool whip instead of making my own whipped cream from heavy whipping cream and powdered sugar. Next time, we'll make it even MORE from scratch! Also, we have been using whole wheat bread flour instead of unbleached all purpose flour for years now and have never noticed a problem with "heaviness" in our baking.
Enjoy.