Root Beer Layer Cake with Cream Soda Frosting

Happy birthday, Nathaniel! My boy turned ten last week. TEN!

But let’s skip the sentimentality — because once it starts, it won’t stop — and jump right in to the cake. (If you ate, you’d definitely want to jump right into it too.) I asked Nathaniel what sort of cake he wanted, nervously remembering last year’s post-hurricane ginormous Devil’s Food Cake, and he didn’t take long to decide: he wanted the cupcakes his dad got for his birthday, but in layer cake form. So. . .root beer layer cake. With cream soda frosting. Right.

Root Beer Cupcakes with Cream Soda Frosting

Happy birthday Dave! Time for root beer cupcakes with cream soda frosting!

The week of his birthday, I sat my lovely husband down and showed up the recipes I’d been pinning for him. He’s a vanilla guy, so I walked him through vanilla layer cakes & pound cakes and something called “fudgy vanilla brownies”. He brought up the 2nd-prize-winning Toffee Vanilla Bean Bundt Cake with Caramel Sauce and Sea Salt, as well as my mom’s classic recipe for blonde brownies. And then we got to the root beer cupcakes, and the decision-making suddenly got a whole lot easier.