Root Beer Float Cupcakes

All things root beer just scream October to me.  Growing up my Mom was always the room Mother in our classes.  For our Halloween parties they always made dry ice root beer.  We have also made this at our family Halloween partes.  So, this has clinched Root Beer as a Halloween/October thing for me.

I saw these FANTASTIC Mini Root Beer Float cupcakes at Gourmet Mom On The Go!  I love her site!  I knew I would have to make them!  I have no shot glasses so I experimented with many different versions.

My thought was to make these for my kids’ lunches. 
I baked up some of the cupcakes in thin layers (in mini bread pans that I have).
Then, I cut out circles of the cupcake to layer in these plastic sample cups that I have (I get them in bulk from Party City and use them ALL the time!).  I layered the cupcake circles with my root beer frosting, and topped with an M&M for the cherry. 
I also punched a hole in the lid of my supply cups, for the straws to go through (of course the straws were cut to size as well).  
They were a huge hit in their lunches!
Here was my version for an after school snack.  These were slightly bigger versions than their lunch snacks.  I had these stainless steel condiment cups and thought I would see how well the cupcakes baked up in them.  They worked perfectly.  I will be baking up many more mini things this way!

I baked up some in mugs to see how well that would work.  They are not see-through but I still loved the look and have many more ideas of things to bake in a mug this Winter!
 
And here they are in square shot glasses.  I liked the shape of these a lot!
My favorite version was in the sundae cup, because that is what I would have served my real Root Beer Floats in.  So that made the most sense and added to the cuteness, I think.  But my second favorite was the layered one I made for their lunches!
I used the recipe from Gourmet Mom On The Go.  You’ve really got to check hers out as hers are beautiful!
These are from a vanilla cake box mix!  You do not add eggs or oil!
Mix 1 pkg Vanilla Cake Mix, 1 Tbsp Root Beer Extract, and 1 1/2 C Root Beer.  (The original recipe was slightly different but I wanted a bit more root beer flavoring).
Spray your containers with nonstick cooking spray before filling them 1/2 full with cake batter.  Cook at 350 degrees.  My cooking times varied for each of the containers that I used.  10 minutes for my tiny bread loaves, and up to about 14 minutes for my mug.
I used white frosting that I added 1/2 tsp of root beer extract to.  This does turn your white frosting light brown which makes it look less like the whip cream or real vanilla ice cream.  However, I changed this because, again, I wanted more root beer flavor.  I liked it this way.
I put the frosting into a ziplock baggie for decorating the top of the cupcakes.  Just snip a tiny bit of one corner off and you are ready to pipe it on.  I keep my kitchen gadgets to a minimum so I don’t have pastry bags and specialty tips, though they definitely would make it so much cuter!
Cut some Pirouette Rolled Wafers to size for each of the containers, for the straws!  Then, just slide them down the side of your container!  Make sure to top your cupcake with a cherry of some sort.  On my bigger cupcakes I used Cherry Sours.  On my tiny cupcakes I used red M&Ms.
Rebecca

I am joining the fun at the following parties, Hoosier Homemade, Blue Cricket Design,