Loveless Cafe's Root Beer Float Cake

I had the opportunity to visit my folks this spring when traveling for work.  We haven't done much exploring on my visits since they moved to the area, so when the idea of going out to eat came up, I pushed for something truly "Nashville."  My dad suggested the Loveless Cafe.  It was about an hour away from their home in Gallatin, TN and the drive was lovely.  There are woods everywhere in Nashville, and the trees are not the kind I'm familiar with in Los Angeles.  The Loveless was appropriately busy, so we had time to wander their gift shops on the property, and take our picture behind a funny backdrop frame.  The cafe has a picture window on the area where the biscuit maker lies out the fluffy wonders on big sheet pans dozens at a time.  We so stuffed ourselves on brunch we didn't have room to sample their famous cobblers and baked goods.

I visited right around Easter, and was looking for a treat to bake on my day off.  Rummaging through my mom's cookbooks, I came across a recipe book titled "Desserts from the Famous Loveless Cafe."  Flipping through, the Root Beer Float Cake jumped out at me.  My dad's father had run a Pepsi plant and distributorship when I was growing up, so I thought it would be fun to bake with soda pop.  And I love bundt cakes.

The Root Beer Cake was so flavorful I didn't bother to glaze it.  I served it with a vanilla bean ice cream instead, and finished the cake before I ran out of ice cream.