Michigan Pop Recipes: 14 Recipes Using Faygo and Vernors

From homemade cupcakes and frosting to cocktails, barbecue sauce to kids’ treats, here are Michigan’s latest and best pop recipes—and, how our favorites turned out.

MICHIGAN—It’s pop, not soda.

‘Ganders love their soft drinks. With the hometown names of Vernors and Faygo, how could they not? 

Vernors Ginger Ale was America’s first soda pop, while Faygo is the most likely historical culprit of why we coined the term “pop”—after the sound made when popping the lid off a soda bottle. These Detroit originals from the turn of the century have remained Michigan mainstays to this day.

Celebrate a toast to Michigan’s carbonated history with this unique blend of recipes using Michigan’s favorite soft drinks.

Classic

Photo courtesy of Lisa Green

Boston Cooler

• 12 fl. oz. Vernors Ginger Ale
• 2 – 3 Scoops Sanders vanilla ice cream

Combine the ginger ale and ice cream in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve immediately.

Cider & Gold

• 1 cup Faygo Gold
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 cinnamon stick

Apple ring, for garnish

Select your favorite Michigan-made cider, preferably from a local apple orchard. Combine equal parts apple cider and Faygo gold in a heatsafe container. Heat until just boiling. Pour into a heatsafe glass or mug. Add cinnamon stick and apple ring garnish, if desired. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Faygo’s official website. Watch this recipe come together here!

Vernor’s Ginger Ale Spice Cake

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup Vernor’s Ginger Ale
• 2½ tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. rum extract
• 1 tbsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. ginger
• ½ tsp. fresh grated nutmeg
• ½ tsp. cloves
• Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease either a sheet cake pan (9×13 inch), tube pan (10-inch), or Bundt pan.

In a large bowl, cream butter, sugar, and brown sugar together. Blend in eggs, vanilla, and rum extract. Add Vernor’s.

In another large bowl, toss together dry ingredients. Add gradually to the creamed mixture. Mix until just combined.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake until the cake springs back when lightly pressed, about 45 minutes for a sheet pan or 60 minutes for a tube or Bundt pan.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly on a cooling rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar

Recipe originally appeared on Just A Pinch.

Redpop Float

• 1 can of Faygo Redpop, chilled
• 2 to 4 scoops Sanders or Hudsonville vanilla ice cream

Pour cold Redpop into a glass. Scoop out ice cream and drop it inside the glass. Serve immediately.

Recipe originally appeared on Cravings of a Lunatic blog.

With A Twist

Caramel Apple Cider Boston Cooler

• 6 fl. Oz. apple cider
• 6 fl. oz. Vernors Ginger Ale
• 1 – 2 Scoops vanilla or caramel ice cream
• Sanders Classic Caramel Dessert Topping

Scoop 1 – 2 scoops of ice cream into a glass. Spoon some caramel onto the ice cream. Fill the glass halfway with apple cider. Fill up the rest with Vernors. Drizzle caramel topping onto ice cream and foam at the top, to taste, swirling into the foam if necessary. Serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from the NeighborFood blog.

Faygo Cupcakes

• 1 box Betty Crocker Super Moist White Cake Mix
• 12 fl. oz. Faygo, any flavor

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cups in a muffin tin. In a large bowl, beat dry cake mix and Faygo with an electric mixer on low speed for one minute, then on medium speed for two minutes, scraping the side of the bowl as you go. 

Divide batter evenly into cups. Bake 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely, about 1 hour. Frost if desired.

Recipe originally from Betty Crocker.

Faygo Buttercream Frosting

• 2 cups Faygo
• ½ cup butter, room temperature
• 1½ cups confectioners sugar
• 2 Tbsp. heavy whipping cream

Add two cups Faygo, or about a can and a half, to a large pot. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Make a syrup reduction by simmering 20-30 minutes, stirring infrequently, until Faygo is a runny syrup consistency. Chill in the refrigerator until cool, about 15-30 minutes. 

With an electric mixer, beat butter on medium speed for 1 minute. Add about ½ cup of chilled Faygo syrup and mix. Add the confectioners sugar and whipping cream.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Green

Rock-N-Rye Barbecue Sauce

• 1 cup (8 fl. oz.) Faygo Rock-N-Rye
• 1 cup ketchup
• ¼ cup Original Zip Sauce (or other steak sauce)
• ¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp. liquid smoke
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. black pepper
• ½ tsp. hot sauce (optional)
• 1 – 2 tbsp. butter, room temperature (optional)

Combine all ingredients except butter in a heavy saucepan. Heat to boiling using medium heat.

Simmer sauce uncovered while stirring occasionally. Simmer until reduced by ¼, about 6 to 10 minutes, or until the sauce is desired thickness. If desired, after removing from heat, add a tablespoon or two of butter for extra sheen.

Transfer sauce to clean jars. Let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until serving. The sauce will keep for several months if refrigerated.

Also, try the recipe with your favorite citrus and fruity soda flavors! Recipe is adapted from Food Network.

Photo courtesy of Lisa Green

Masonic Temple

• ¾  cup Vernors Ginger Ale
• ¼ cup Faygo Twist soda
• ½ Tbsp. grenadine
• ½ Tbsp. lime juice
• Maraschino cherries, for garnish

Fill a glass halfway with ice. Pour the lime juice and grenadine over the ice (Maraschino syrup may be substituted for grenadine). Fill the glass almost to the top with Vernors. Top with Faygo Twist soda. Garnish with maraschino cherries and serve.

Recipe is adapted from the classic Shirley Temple mocktail recipe.

Adult Only

Beer City Shandy

• 1 shot (1½ fl. oz.) vodka
• 3 fl. oz. Founders Rubaeus Beer
• 3 fl. oz. Faygo Red Pop
• Lemon slice, for garnish

Fill a glass with ice. Add a shot of vodka. Add equal proportions of Founders Rubaeus Beer and Faygo Red Pop. Stir. Garnish with a lemon slice. Serve.

Recipe courtesy of Craft Spirits Nation.

Faygo 60/40 Sangria

• 1 (750 mL) bottle white wine, chilled
• 2 cups Faygo 60/40 Grapefruit Lime Soda
• ¼ cup brandy or fruit-flavored liqueur, optional
• 1 grapefruit, sliced
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges
• 1 lime, cut into wedges

Select a crisp white wine from Michigan favorites Chateau Grand Traverse, Leelanau Cellars, or St. Julian Winery. Slice and wedge all fruits. Remove seeds from the wedges and slices.

Add all fruits to a large pitcher. Pour white wine into the pitcher with the fruit. Add the brandy, if using. Refrigerate if making ahead of time.

Pour Faygo 60/40 into the pitcher just before serving. Serve cold.

Recipe adapted from Faygo’s official website. Watch this recipe come together here!

Photo courtesy of Lisa Green

Insane Clown

• 1 shot (1.5 fl oz) vanilla vodka
• 3 fl. oz. St. Julian Cotton Candy Wine
• 3 fl. oz. Faygo Cotton Candy
• ½ cup pink cotton candy, divided, for garnish

Fill a glass with ice, if desired. Add one shot of vanilla vodka and two shots of cotton candy wine. Fill the glass with Faygo Cotton Candy. Add half of the pink cotton candy to the side of each cup. Serve.

Dissolve cotton candy into the drink and watch the colors change!

Recipe adapted from Stoner Strategies (21+ link).

D-Town Creamsicle

• 1 shot (1.5 fl oz) whipped vodka
• ¼ Cup Faygo Orange
• ¼ Cup Vernors Ginger Ale
• Maraschino cherry, for garnish

Pour vodka, Faygo Orange, and Vernors into a glass with ice. Stir until combined. Garnish with a maraschino cherry, if desired.

Recipe adapted from The Blond Cook blog.

Cherryland Sparkle

• 2 shots (3 fl. oz.) vodka
• ½ bottle (6 fl. oz.) Redwoods or Towne Club Cherry Soda
• 6 fl. oz. Faygo Twist
• Crushed ice
• Maraschino cherries, for garnish

Pour all ingredients into a blender. Blend on high until smooth.

Recipe adapted from Bar One.

Trying one of these creations? Share your photos with Managing Editor Jessica Strachan at [email protected]. We’ll share with our community of more than 65,000 Michiganders.