A simple but flavorful eggnog pound cake recipe! Top it with an eggnog glaze or whipped cream frosting for extra flavor. Perfect for the holiday season and for gift giving too! EASY – This recipe is easy. It's a great holiday treat and you can easily double the recipe to make two cakes. Make sure to first read the recipe and post fully to be familiar with the process. US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions. Weight measurements are recommended for accurate results.
226gunsalted buttersoftened at room temperature, 2 sticks
226gwhite sugarpreferably caster sugar, 1 ⅛ cup
¼tspsea salt
2large eggs
2yolks from large eggs
120mLeggnog½ cup, full fat (I use homemade eggnog)
2tspvanilla extract
195gAP flourabout 1 ½ cups, measured by spoon and level method
½tspfreshly grated nutmeg
¼tspground cinnamon
1tspbaking powder
Eggnog glaze
170gconfectioner's sugar1 ½ cup, sifted
3tbspfull fat eggnogI use homemade (use less or more, according to preference)
1tbsprumoptional
Pinchof salt
Rum whipped cream frosting
120mLheavy cream½ cup (35% fat)
57gcream cheese2 oz
28gconfectioner's sugarabout ¼ cup
½tspfreshly grated nutmeg
2tbsprum30 mL
Instructions
Eggnog pound cake
Butter a 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan, and dust the inside of the pan with flour to coat. Shake off excess flour. Alternatively, you can line it with parchment paper. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 325°F / 170°C.
Weigh out all the ingredients. Sift the flour, nutmeg, cinnamon, and baking powder into a bowl, and set aside.
Place the softened butter and salt in a bowl, and cream the butter until light, creamy, and fluffy (between 3 – 7 minutes), at medium speed (speed 4 – 5 on a kitchenaid mixer). Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure you get all of the butter, and it's creamed well.
Add the sugar, and cream the butter and sugar together for a further 2 - 4 minutes, until light and fluffy.
Halfway through the mixing process, stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure the sugar is evenly mixed.
Break an egg into a small bowl (make sure there are no egg shells). Add the egg to the butter-sugar mix. Mix for about 20 – 30 seconds until the egg has incorporated into the batter, and there are no traces of egg yolk. Repeat with the other egg and egg yolks, while making sure to stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through the process.
Mix the eggnog and vanilla in a separate bowl or jug and set aside for the next step.
Mixing in the flour by hand (you will need a long-handled baking spatula to fold the flour into the batter)
Stop the mixer and remove the mixing bowl from the stand mixer. Sift about ⅓ of the dry ingredients over the batter. Fold the flour into the batter, while rotating the bowl after each fold, until the flour is about 90% incorporated.
Add ½ of the eggnog mixture, and continue to fold in the eggnog.
Repeat with the dry ingredients, eggnog mixture, and finally the dry ingredients again. Carefully incorporate all of the flour while folding it into the batter (avoid vigorous mixing). This will give you a smooth cake batter.
Make sure there are no dry bits of flour in your batter.
Mixing in the flour with a stand mixer
Reduce the speed of the stand mixer to the lowest setting (stir speed in a kitchenaid mixer).
Add ⅓ of the sifted dry ingredients to the batter and mix for a few seconds until just incorporated. Repeat with ½ of the eggnog mixture, ⅓ of the dry ingredients again, remaining ½ of the eggnog mixture, and finally ending with the remaining ⅓ of the dry ingredients.
Make sure to scrape the bowl as you go to prevent dry flour pockets, and also to prevent overworking the gluten.
Baking the pound cakes
Scrape half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Using an offset spatula, spread the batter evenly, making sure you get to the edges and corners of the pan.
Add the rest of the batter, and then evenly spread it again for a flat surface.
Gently shake the pan a little to make sure the batter is evenly spread, and knock the cake pan on your kitchen counter 2 or 3 times to remove any air pockets.
Transfer the loaf pan into the oven (ideally in the center of the middle rack). Set the timer for 40 minutes. After 40 minutes, rotate the cake pan, and bake for a further 20 minutes. This will depend on your oven, so adjust the time accordingly. I use a conventional oven.
Check on the cake after a total of 60 minutes of bake time to test the doneness, using a clean toothpick or a cake tester. Insert the toothpick into the center of the cake, and if it comes out clean, then the cake is done. In my oven, this can take about 60 – 70 minutes to bake.
Remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool down for about 10 minutes. Carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling wire rack to cool down completely.
Eat warm, or at room temperature, with a glaze or whipped cream topping.
Eggnog glaze
Place the confectioner's sugar and salt in a bowl.
Add the eggnog 1 tbsp at a time, and whisk it in. Add enough eggnog to get the consistency you prefer.
Add rum if you like as well, and whisk it in. I usually add about 3 ½ tbsp of liquid to 6 oz of confectioner's sugar.
If the glaze is too runny, you can add a little more confectioner’s sugar. Now the glaze is ready to be poured over the cake.
Rum whipped cream
Make sure the heavy cream and the bowl it's in are both chilled. This helps with the proper whipping of the cream.
Whisk the cream cheese until light and fluffy in a separate bowl.
Add all the ingredients (except the cream cheese) into the same chilled bowl with the cream. Whisk at medium speed until you reach soft peaks. If you °whisk at high speed, the whipped cream can deflate faster, so whisking at a slower speed ensures the whipped cream is more stable.
Then add the beaten cream cheese, and continue to whisk until you have stiff peaks.
Use immediately to spread it over the surface of your ca°ke.
Notes
Note about cake pans
You can also use a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. The baking time will be slightly less. You can double the recipe and bake the cake in a bundt cake pan too. The cake may need to be tented with foil to prevent too much browning, since the cake will need to bake longer. OR you can bake the cake at 300 F as well.
How to store pound cake
When the cake is at room temperature, it can be stored in an airtight container, and be consumed within 3 days, or stored for a week in the fridge.If your cake has the whipped cream topping, then it must be kept in the fridge.Stale pound cake can be made to taste better when toasted or grilled.OR you can wrap the cake in plastic wrap (without glaze or topping), and then foil, and stored in the freezer for up to 3 months.