Y’all my Eggnog Cake is about to blow ya mind! I start by mixing up a tender and moist pound cake batter that has eggnog throughout. Then to add even more eggnog flavor, I pour a delish butter rum sauce over it to let it seep in. That flavor is popping boos.
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Eggnog Cake Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter: I like to use European-style butter with a higher fat content and less water. If you grab salted, just leave out the salt.
- Granulated Sugar: For sweetness.
- Eggs: Room temperature.
- Cake Flour: I swear by cake flour for my pound cakes, y’all. It keeps the texture light since it develops less gluten. For a gluten-free version, use a 1:1 gluten-free baking flour that’s made for cakes. Texture may change slightly.
- Eggnog: Make sure you get a high-quality one. Grab the best at the store or you can make your own homemade eggnog if you want.
- Pure Vanilla Extract: Don’t use imitation.
- Ground Nutmeg: For classic eggnog flavor.
- Powdered Sugar: None around? Make homemade powdered sugar with granulated sugar and a blender.
- Granulated Sugar: Sweetens up the sauce and gives it that syrupy consistency.
- Rum: 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.
How to make Eggnog Cake
Mix the Batter and Bake
Step 1: Cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and salt on high speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add in the eggs, one at a time, and mix after adding each until it’s well incorporated into the butter and sugar mixture.
Step 2: Add the flour followed by the eggnog, vanilla extract, and nutmeg. Mix on low speed just until mixed.
Step 3: Pour the cake batter into a prepared bundt pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out moist but mostly clean.
Step 4: Cool the cake in the pan and then invert the cake onto a cooling rack.
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Make Butter Rum Sauce and Pour Over Cake
Step 5: Add the butter, water, sugar, and rum to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the sugar and allow the ingredients to combine.
Step 6: Poke the cake all over its surface and then pour the sauce over the cake allowing it to seep into the cake. Sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar after the buttered rum sauce has soaked into the cake.
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.
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.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Room Temp is Key: Make sure your butter and eggs are at room temperature! You don’t want cold ingredients messing up with the texture.
- Don’t Rush: Mix 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: It keeps the batter lump-free and helps the cake bake up 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.
Recipe help
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.
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Saw this recipe on IG and although I had never baked a cake before, I had to try it. I ended up making it 3 times during the holidays. Recipe was easy to follow and the cake was so good! Now I have the baking bug! Trying your cream cheese pound cake today. Thank you for sharing the love ❤️
Thanks, boo!
Spectacular! Huge hit with the fam! I’ll be making this for years to come. Thank you!
Yay! So happy to hear that everyone enjoy it!
This was theeee best pound cake I have ever tasted. Simple directions; so easy, I can’t wait to make more! Thank you for your craft and dedication!
Thanks, boo!
The cake came out so light and a rich eggnog flavor. I would have made this sooner! So delicious
Oh wow I’m so glad you love this.
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.