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The Lowdown on This Eggnog Cake
If y’all love eggnog like I do, this Eggnog Cake is about to blow ya mind! Think all that creamy, spiced goodness baked into the softest, butteriest eggnog pound cake you’ve ever tasted. And I ain’t stopping there boos! I give it a lil’ extra love with a warm butter rum sauce that seeps into every nook and cranny. Yeah… It tastes as good as it sounds.
My pound cake collection is getting pretty crowded, but you know I couldn’t go without one more, and this Eggnog Cake recipe is just the one to polish off the holiday season! Y’all my pound cake game is always on point, and is the best on the web. And when you have as many as I do, you gotta keep jazzing them up and making each better than the last.
There is SO much magic when you combine a Buttered Rum with an Eggnog cake. The two flavors meld, to the point where you wonder why they were never put together in the very first place. And because I’m the Queen of pound cakes, I made this genius idea the real thing! Get into it.
Ingredients you’ll need to make an Eggnog Cake
For the Cake
- Unsalted Butter: I love to start with high-quality butter when making pound cakes and bundt cakes. The butter is such an important ingredient and starts the true foundation for the entire recipe. Since this is a holiday cake, I like to use European-style butter with a higher fat content and less water. It makes a difference in richness, especially when it is mixed with sugar.
- Granulated Sugar: Gives the cake its sweetness and helps it stay moist.
- Eggs: These bad boys bring structure and richness.
- Cake Flour: I swear by cake flour for my pound cakes, y’all. It keeps the texture tender and light since it develops less gluten.
- Eggnog: The eggnog flavor in this cake is undeniable! Make sure you get a high-quality one. Here is a list of eggnogs I found or you can make your own homemade eggnog if you’d like.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Adds that cozy warmth and rounds out the flavors. Use the real deal for the best flavor, no imitation allowed!
- Ground Nutmeg: Just a touch gives that classic eggnog spice.
- Powdered Sugar: The perfect finishing touch sprinkled on top for that snowy holiday look.
For the Glaze
- Unsalted Butter: Melts down for that rich, velvety base.
- Water: Helps thin the sauce just right.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens up the sauce and gives it that syrupy consistency.
- Rum: It wouldn’t be a buttered rum glaze without rum! It adds a warm, boozy kick.
How to make Eggnog Cake
What to serve with rum eggnog cake
- Add Some Fruit. Fresh berries would make a simple garnish and addition to your holiday pound cake.
- Holiday Garnish. Decorate it with sprigs of mint or rosemary and some fresh or sugared cranberries.
- Holiday Sippers. Enjoy your slice of eggnog cake along with a mug of French Hot Chocolate, Apple Cider, Hot Buttered Rum, or Christmas Punch.
- Creamy Topping. If you’re craving a bit of creaminess to top your pound cake add a spoonful of homemade whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Recipe Substitutions
- More Rum Flavor. Replace some of the water in the buttered rum sauce recipe with more rum. You can also use a dark rum which has a more intense flavor than a light colored rum.
- Cake Flour: For a gluten-free version, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour that’s made for cakes. Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur’s gluten-free options, just to name a few.
- Different Glaze: I love the rum glaze with the eggnog but you could also swap it for a different glaze such as this brown butter glaze.
- Swap the Rum. Instead of rum, you can make the glaze with bourbon or tequila instead! Both would be great with the buttery, sugary flavor of the glaze and the eggnog pound cake.
Recipe Variations and Additions
- Alcohol-Free: While the alcohol cooks off while the cake bakes, I understand completely if you’d rather use an alcohol-free option. Replace the rum with rum extract which you can usually find in the baking aisle with your baking ingredients. I suggest starting with about a tablespoon of extract and then adjusting from there to reach the desired flavor.
- Nuts: Stir in some chopped pecans into the buttered rum glaze to make it into a buttered rum topping!
- Nutmeg in the Sauce: Stir a pinch of nutmeg into the butter rum sauce to double down on those warm holiday vibes.
- Chocolate: Double down on the indulgence, boos! Toss some semisweet chocolate chips into the batter.
Expert Tips and Tricks for making the best eggnog cake recipe
- Room Temp is Key: I can’t stress this enough in all my pound cake recipes boos, make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature! You don’t want cold ingredients messing up with the texture of this gorgeous rum eggnog cake.
- Cream It Like You Mean It: Don’t rush the creaming step! Beat the butter, sugar, and salt until it’s light and fluffy. It should look almost whipped. This adds air to the batter, which means a lighter and taller cake.
- Sift That Flour: Even if your cake flour looks fine, sift it anyway. It keeps the batter lump-free and helps the cake bake up nice and soft.
- Slow and Steady for the Sauce: When pouring the buttered rum glaze over the warm cake, go slow and do it in intervals. This way, the cake has time to soak up all that goodness instead of it pooling at the bottom.
How to store Eggnog Cake
First things first, patience is key! Let that beautiful cake cool all the way down before you even think about wrapping it up. This is crucial y’all, because it stops any extra moisture from getting all cozy inside your storage container.
Now, for the wrapping – it’s a two-step process: first, snug it up in plastic wrap, then give it an extra layer of love with aluminum foil. This keeps the air out and the freshness in. If you’ve got an airtight cake container, even better boos!
How long will Eggnog Cake last?
Store it at room temp for up to three days or in the fridge for up to a week. The key to making it last longer is wrapping it up properly!
Can I freeze eggnog pound cake?
Yep! If you want to bake the cake ahead of time you can freeze the entire cake after baking it. Wrap it up very well with plastic wrap and foil and store it in the freezer for up to a month. Allow the cake to thaw out on the counter overnight and then add the buttered rum glaze.
Frequently asked questions
Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then pop a plate on top, flip it over, and give it a gentle shake. If it’s stubborn, let it sit a bit longer. Gravity will handle the rest!
Sure is! It’s just the dense batter doing its thing. I think it’s the sign of a bomb cake! Use a bundt pan to avoid it, but honestly, nobody’s gonna see the cracks once you flip the cake out.
A bundt pan is perfect y’all! The center hole helps it bake evenly, and you can pick a fun design to make it extra fancy for the holidays.
The simplicity of this eggnog cake recipe with buttered rum glaze is what makes it so perfect! Its classic eggnog flavor makes it the perfect dessert for your holiday menu, a winter bake sale, and even to give as a gift. Bring it to a holiday potluck and you’ll be the hit of the party no doubt boos!
More Eggnog Recipes
Buttered Rum Eggnog Cake Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups sifted cake flour
- ½ cup eggnog
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
For the Butter Rum Sauce:
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup water
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup rum like spiced dark rum
- Powdered Sugar for garnish
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat your oven to 315 degrees and prepare your 12 cup bundt pan with shortening and flour or non-stick baking spray.
- In your mixer bowl, cream together butter, granulated sugar and salt on high speed until light and fluffy for 5 minutes.
- Next add in eggs, one at a time, and mix until well incorporated.
- Slow mixer to lowest speed and carefully add in flour then eggnog, vanilla extract and nutmeg and mix until just combined.
- Pour cake batter into bundt pan and bake for 65-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but mostly clean. Towards the end of baking, begin the butter rum sauce below.
For the Butter Rum Sauce:
- Add butter, water, sugar and rum into a pot and bring to a boil. You are looking for the sauce to be the consistency of a light syrup that’s not too thick. Once everything is combined, turn off the heat.
- Remove cake from the oven and poke holes into the cake while still in the pan. Pour 3/4s of the sauce over the cake allowing it to seep into the cake. Take your time doing this and do it in intervals allowing the liquid to soak in before adding more.
- Once completely soaked in, flip the cake out of the pan and brush the remaining sauce over the top of it then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
Notes
- Room Temp is Key: I can’t stress this enough in all my pound cake recipes boos, make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature! You don’t want cold ingredients messing up with the texture of this gorgeous rum eggnog cake.
- Cream It Like You Mean It: Don’t rush the creaming step! Beat the butter, sugar, and salt until it’s light and fluffy. It should look almost whipped. This adds air to the batter, which means a lighter and taller cake.
- Sift That Flour: Even if your cake flour looks fine, sift it anyway. It keeps the batter lump-free and helps the cake bake up nice and soft.
- Slow and Steady for the Sauce: When pouring the buttered rum glaze over the warm cake, go slow and do it in intervals. This way, the cake has time to soak up all that goodness instead of it pooling at the bottom.
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No baking powder?
Nope, it’s a pound cake recipe so it doesn’t have traditional leavening in it.
I did not know what to expect, but if you’re on the fence about this cake, just MAKE IT! I made it for a group of co-workers, many of whom said it was the best thing they’ve ever had! It was actually my first bundt cake, but it turned out absolutely perfectly! The rum soak adds a nice moisture level to a very large cake, using the shortening/flour method, it released from the pan very cleanly, and honestly the crown jewel is the spiked whipped cream to serve it with! PS the recipe did not specify but I highly suggest using spiced dark rum! It will amp up the flavours/spices of the egg nog and also just add a depth of flavour 🙂
Wow thank you so so much! This is such a great compliment.
Hi, I wrote a comment and don’t see it, so let me try again… the recipe instructions state to put rum glaze on the cake bottom while still in pan, but the steps above the recipe states to remove from pan then put glaze on top of cake… which is right? Thank you
The instructions show to use 3/4 of the sauce while the cake is still in the pan, and brush the top with the remaining sauce.
Can you please clarify on when to add rum glaze? The photo instructions state to add after flipping out of pan and the recipe steps state to add glaze while in pan. I can’t wait to make this for Christmas dinner desert! I appreciate all your recipes so much! I’ve never had one fail me yet.