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Eggnog Cake with a delicious eggnog glaze is the perfect holiday dessert! Easy and quick to make from scratch, this moist bundt cake is so flavorful and tastes even better on the next day – a perfect cake to make in advance.
We love moist and tender cakes like our Moist Lemon Cake Recipe, German Apple Cake, and this fun Copycat Starbucks Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake. Simple cakes like these can be dressed up easily and are much quicker to make than fancy layer cakes.
This Eggnog Bundt Cake is the perfect cake to make for Christmas because it can be made ahead and goes so well with a cup of hot cocoa or Glühwein (German Mulled Wine)! Dress it up with an easy eggnog glaze (or my eggnog buttercream) and you have a delicious dessert that is easy to whip up and tastes so moist and flavorful.
This recipe is adapted from one of my favorite German cakes, called “Eierlikörkuchen” (German eggnog cake). Eierlikoer is a spiked Eggnog similar to the Dutch liquor Advocaat. But this classic recipe tastes also great with eggnog and if you want to add a bit of extra flavor I highly recommend adding a few tablespoons of rum to the cake batter – so delicious!
The secret that makes this cake so fluffy and tender is whipping up the eggs with the sugar until the mixture is really pale and has almost doubled in volume. This technique is often used in German cakes and makes them light and fluffy because of the air that gets incorporated during mixing. You have to give this easy recipe a try!
Julia’s Tips and Tricks
- Let it rest: This cake tastes best after sitting at room temperature for 24 hours. The eggnog flavor will get stronger with time
- Prep pan: Always grease and flour your cake pan, especially bundt pans!
- Whip eggs and sugar: Beat the sugar and eggs together until the mixture is pale and has increased in volume (see picture below). It’s best to use a stand mixer for this!
- Add rum: I like to add a little bit of rum for an even better flavor
- Or Egg liqueur: Instead of eggnog and rum, you can also use the same amount of Advocaat or Eierlikoer (both are alcoholic beverages)
- Don’t over-bake: Test the cake with a skewer for doneness after 40 minutes to prevent over-baking it. Baking the cake too long will make it dry
- Let it cool: Let the cake cool completely before pouring the glaze over it or sprinkling it with powdered sugar
- Don’t refrigerate it: Store the cake at room temperature, don’t put it in the fridge
How do I keep a cake from sticking to a bundt pan?
My advice is always to grease your pans with butter and then lightly flour them. Some people also swear by vegetable oil spray and a sprinkle of almond flour, but butter and flour are always in my pantry, and it works every time in my experience.
Use a paper towel and rub the pan with butter, especially the corners. Then use a small sieve to sprinkle the pan with 1-2 Tbsp of flour. Shake the pan over the sink to make sure that everything is floured. This is especially important when using a bundt pan! Even if you are using a non-stick pan, I would recommend doing this.
How do you get a cake out of a Bundt pan?
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, put the pan on a cooling rack and loosen the edges of the cake with a knife or thin heatproof spatula. Let the cake sit on the cooling rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert the pan onto the rack. Sometimes the cake slides right out, sometimes it needs a little jiggle. If it is stubborn, let it sit for a few minutes then try again. If it really doesn’t want to come out, put the cake pan back in the turned-off oven for 10 minutes and try again. Lift the pan off and let the cake continue to cool on the rack until completely cooled.
More festive Cake recipes
- Chocolate Cranberry Cake
- Black Forest Cake
- Pecan Pie Cheesecake
- Pumpkin Crunch Cake
- Cranberry Upside Down Cake
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Eggnog Cake
Ingredients
Bundt Cake:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups eggnog
- 3 Tablespoons dark rum, or brandy (optional)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoons salt
Eggnog Glaze:
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
- 2 Tablespoons eggnog, or more
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and grease and flour a bundt pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine eggs and sugar. Beat at medium-high speed for 4–6 minutes, until pale and fluffy (see picture above for reference).
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the vanilla extract, vegetable oil and the eggnog in a slow stream. Add the rum and mix until combined.
- Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Sieve into the stand mixer bowl and mix at low speed until just combined. Pour into prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 45-55, until a skewer, inserted in the center, comes out clean with only a few moist crumbs attached.
- Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a cooling rack, then turn out the cake onto the cooling rack and let cool completely.
- Combine all the ingredients for the glaze and pour it over the cake. Instead of a glaze, you can also sprinkle the cake with powdered sugar.
Notes
- This cake tastes best after it has been sitting at room temperature for 24 hours. The eggnog flavor will get stronger with time
- Always grease and flour your cake pan especially bundt pans!
- IMPORTANT: Beat the sugar and eggs together until the mixture is pale and has increased in volume (see picture below). It’s best to use a stand mixer for this!
- I like to add a little bit of rum for an even better flavor
- Instead of eggnog and rum, you can also use the same amount of Advocaat or Eierlikoer (both are alcoholic beverages)
- Test the cake with a skewer for doneness after 40 minutes to prevent over-baking it. Baking the cake too long will make it dry
- Let the cake cool completely before pouring the glaze over it or sprinkling it with powdered sugar
- Store the cake at room temperature, don’t put it in the fridge
Can this be made in a regular loaf cake pan? Or round cake pans?
I haven’t made this yet but hope to, my question is, it sounds like so much liquid, 2 1/4 cups of oil and egg nog combines, plus the eggs and rum and only two cups of flour, I just want to verify that it’s the correct measurements. Thank you.
Measurements are correct.
The cake was really good, nice texture. I put thinly sliced candied ginger on top for a garnish.
I’m still mixing but sending this now. The vanilla is not in the instructions, and no salt?
Thank you for letting me know, Beth! I just corrected the recipe.
This was absolutely delicious. I used Lactaid Egg Nog so moist and I will do it again and again! Thank you for sharing 😋
This is a delicious, moist cake. Will make this whenever eggnog is available. Have also made it in an angel food pan and it came out perfect. Highly recommend!!