While the chocolate cake is perfectly delicious on its own, there are many unique ingredients you can add to enhance that chocolatey flavor. One ingredient, in particular, can give your chocolate cake a nuanced caramel flavor, and it may surprise you.

If you want unique caramel essence in your cake without the hassle of a fancy recipe, all you need is a can of root beer. Matt Lewis' quick root beer chocolate cake recipe found in "Baked: New Frontiers in Cooking" allows you to use any type of root beer to add caramel tones to your pastry.

The brown sugar and the undertones of molasses in cane sugar root beer leave the cake reminiscent of a rich and decadent chocolate-infused caramel treat. Most modern-day root beers are made with artificial sassafras flavoring and enhanced with additional ingredients like molasses, vanilla, cinnamon, and cherry tree bark, adding deep and nuanced flavor.