Drinking eggnog during the holidays is one thing but eating in my bomb Eggnog Cake is beyond! I start by mixing up a tender 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 along with the spices. That flavor is popping boos.
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Eggnog Cake Ingredient Notes
- 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.
- 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.
- Powdered Sugar: None around? Make homemade powdered sugar with granulated sugar and a blender.
- 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.
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.
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Buttered Rum Eggnog Cake Recipe
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I’ll email this recipe to you, so you can come back to it later!
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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This cake in incredible! Thanks for the recipe! I made it in the same crown bundt pan, which is 10 cups, and all the batter fit perfectly. The cake came right up to the top but did not spill over (I always place my bundt pans on a baking sheet just in case to avoid a huge clean up). I was amazed that all the rum butter sauce got soaked up and truthfully, I wish there had been more to soak deeper in to the cake. Just delicious and a wonderful holiday treat! Thanks you!
So so glad you enjoyed. Next time, you can make more of the rum sauce if you prefer more and really get it soaking wet. So happy you liked it!
Love love love this cake, made two yesterday morning for our Christmas dinner. One was for my daughter who was serving her in-laws for the first time. I didn’t think the eggnog would come thru so well but it did. Keep those lovely recipes coming!!! Happy New Year!!
Jocelyn, thank you for this recipe as the cake, sauce, and garnish are divine together! I am having a bit of an issue and would like your advice. I have baked this cake in 2 bundt pans (the Nordic Ware Skyline and Crown which is the one you have shown), and in both cases, the cake sticks in the pan. With both pans, the crown does not stick, it’s just around the sides. I prepared the pans with Baker’s Joy. Also, the pan you have shown in a 10-cup capacity pan and you mention using a 12-cup capacity pan. Are you not using all of the batter? Perhaps I will try that to prevent sticking. The Skyline is a 12-cup capacity pan, so I thought it would work. Please provide your thoughts on this. Thanks!
The 12 cup pan should totally work but it may be that you need to use a better greasing method to ensure that it doesn’t stick. Because of all of the intricate crevices, you will need to really ensure that every little area is totally greased. If the cake spray didn’t work, maybe think about trying the shortening and flour method? It is old school but generally works really well. Also how long are you resting your cakes?
Jocelyn, I have tried the 1 pt flour, 1 pt oil, and 1 pt shortening mix to prep my pan. I was resting the cake for 10 minutes, and I increased it to 15 minutes. The results were better, but a little bit still remains. I will try 20 minutes and hopefully that will do the trick. I am so very close! In the meanwhile, I have sliced the cake and served it and rave reviews have been received. Again, thank you!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I have made this cake every Christmas for the last 3 years and all my family and friends love it. I also make it for my boyfriend’s birthday because it’s his favourite cake.
Merry Christmas to you and best wishes from Switzerland
IS it ok to put nuts in the bottom of the pan before putting in the cake batter.
Go for it and let me know how it turns out.
This sounds delicious! What kind of rum did you use?
I actually just used whatever rum was around.
I noticed there is no baking powder is that correct
It is indeed.
Love your cakes! I want to make sure that the oven temperature is correct in this recipe as it is listed as 315 degrees and that is a little odd. I normally see 325 or 350 degrees.
Yes this cake bakes a little lower. I hope you enjoy!
I usually make the banana rum cake during the holidays but had to try this and its so delicious. its day before thanksgiving and we cut it too early so have to bake another one. glad i found your page. thank you
Hooray so so glad!!!!
This cake is super fantastic delicious and simple!! I can’t thank you enough for sharing a recipe I lost from my grandmother years ago and was so nostalgic at dinner my mother cried tears of joy!
Thank you so much for sending this sweet message. It made me so happy.