Root Beer Float Cupcake Entry #1

This week I will be attempting to make a root beer float cupcake. I first thought of the idea when I was watching Semi-Homemade with Sandra Lee on the Food Network. Sandra had reduced down a can of root beer to make a topping for a sundae. I thought that that would be cool to incorporate into my butter cream. I know that a root beer float is a classic summer time drink and if perfected would be a great addition to my cupcake repertoire. For the frosting I will start off by making a simple butter cream with powder sugar, butter, and a small amount of vanilla extract. Instead of adding milk to the butter cream I will add the root beer reduction. I am also considering buying root beer extract to try out and see which one works and tastes better. I am a little worried that the reduced root beer’s flavor will be too overwhelming. I am also concerned that the consistency will be off. Butter cream is meant to thick, smooth when applying to the cupcake, but will harden up after a couple minutes of being in the refrigerator. For the actual cake part I want it to be reminiscent of vanilla ice cream. For that reason I am going to make a vanilla cake. I hope that the cake and the frosting go well with each other and taste like a root beer float. I also hope that it isn’t completely horrendous where I would totally have to redo my whole recipe. My main concern at this point is the frosting.