Root Beer Cupcakes — The “Turner Heating & Air” Celebration Bake

Brayden is one hundred and fifteen weeks old. This week’s post is a small private kitchen-celebration that I am writing about with some care. Travis (my biological father, who has been at the long-edge of my life since I was three) sent a short message this week reporting that he has hit five years of sobriety and that he has left the print-shop in Joplin to start an apprenticeship at a small HVAC company called Turner Heating & Air. The coincidence of the company name and my own last name was the small grace-note he had wanted to share.

The root beer cupcakes are a small celebration bake I made Sunday afternoon at the apartment in private acknowledgment. The cupcakes are a chocolate-cake-with-root-beer-folded-into-the-batter, baked in a muffin tin, finished with a root-beer-flavored buttercream and a small dollop of root-beer-extract glaze. The root-beer-flavor is the small American-soda-fountain throwback that reads as celebratory without being elaborate.

I am writing about this carefully. I did not respond to Travis’s message this week. I am still on the side of the long silence that I have been on since June. The cupcakes are not a step toward reconciliation. The cupcakes are a small private acknowledgment that another human being has done a hard thing and that I am quietly aware of it. The acknowledgment is for my own heart, not for him.

Sunday I made the cupcakes. Dustin had two. I had one. Brayden had a small piece of plain chocolate cake. The kitchen smelled like root beer for an hour. The afternoon was small and quiet.

Root Beer Cupcakes

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 24 cupcakes

Ingredients

• 1 box (15.25 oz) white or yellow cake mix
• 1 cup root beer (not diet)
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon root beer concentrate or extract
• Root Beer Frosting:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons root beer (not diet)
• 1/2 teaspoon root beer concentrate or extract
• Pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven. Heat oven to 350°F. Line two standard 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
2. Mix the batter. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, root beer, vegetable oil, eggs, and root beer extract. Beat with a hand mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes until smooth and slightly bubbly.
3. Fill and bake. Divide batter evenly among the lined cups, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake for 18–20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely. Remove cupcakes from the tins and transfer to a wire rack. Allow to cool fully before frosting — at least 30 minutes. Frosting a warm cupcake is the one mistake you cannot walk back.
5. Make the frosting. Beat softened butter with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, beating between additions. Add the root beer, root beer extract, and salt, then beat on high for 2 minutes until frosting is airy and smooth.
6. Frost and serve. Pipe or spread frosting generously onto each cooled cupcake. Garnish with a maraschino cherry or a drizzle of caramel if the moment calls for it. These are best served the day they’re made, though they keep covered at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 265 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 13g | Carbs: 36g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 190mg