This eggnog bundt cake is moist and tender with a delicious hint of nutmeg and drizzled with eggnog glaze. It’s the perfect holiday dessert that’s elegant and not too sweet. Add an optional hint of rum for a boozy treat.
This eggnog bundt cake has everything you love about the classic holiday drink. It has a hint of nutmeg and rum, and a rich creaminess to the flavor. It’s extremely moist and tender with a beautiful golden color. It’s then drizzled with a sweet eggnog glaze. While the eggnog flavor is delicious – it’s not too overpowering. I found that even my guests who don’t love a glass of eggnog loved the flavor of this cake because of the delicious hints of nutmeg and rum and moist texture.
Making Eggnog Bundt Cake
This recipe requires a few extra steps to get the perfect consistency and flavor.
First, you’ll separate your eggs so that the whites and egg yolks are separated. You’ll actually need 5 eggs in total, but you’ll use 5 egg yolks and only 3 egg whites. You’ll whip the egg whites with a little sugar until stiff peaks form. You’ll set them aside until later, when you’ll gently fold them into the batter. Whipping the egg whites on their own aerates the eggs and ensures that the cake isn’t too dense. Don’t skip this step!
From there, the recipe is pretty straight forward. You’ll beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, then mix in the oil, vanilla extract and egg yolks. We’re using both butter and oil for this recipe because butter adds flavor, whereas the oil keeps the cake tender for longer. Because there’s so much flavor in this cake, you won’t taste the oil at all. Then you’ll whisk in additions of the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggnog and rum. I highly recommend mixing in the dry ingredients and eggnog by hand with a wire whisk. This minimizes the risk of overmixing. Overmixing will lead to a dry, tough cake.
Then last but not least, you’ll gently fold in the whipped egg whites. I like to use a rubber spatula. You want to try and keep the volume of the egg whites. Keep gently folding in the eggs until you no longer see streaks of chunks of egg white in the batter. Then you’ll pour the batter into the prepared pan, and it goes into the oven to bake.
How to Know When Your Bundt Cake is done Baking
Baking times vary due to slight differences in oven calibration and the shapes of bundt pans. This cake will take between 55 and 70 minutes. When it’s done baking you should see the cake pulling away from the sides of the pan and an inserted toothpick or wooden skewer should come out clean or with a couple of dry crumbs.
Eggnog Glaze
After the cake is baked and cooled, it’s drizzled with a sweet eggnog glaze. This cake isn’t overly sweet, so the glaze just adds a little something extra. You’ll whisk together eggnog, powdered sugar and an optional dash of rum or rum extract. Then pour it over the cake. You want the glaze to be white in color, but thin enough to drizzle or pour. I also sprinkled a little extra nutmeg over the cake for visual interest, but that’s totally optional.Â
Baking Tips
- Make sure the butter, eggs, and eggnog are at room temperature before getting started to ensure easy mixing.
- Grease and flour the pan very well. Make sure to get into every crease and cavity.
- I highly recommend using commercially prepared eggnog. This recipe was developed with commercially prepared eggnog – I find homemade recipes can have different amounts of sugar and therefore lead to a cake that’s either too sweet or not sweet enough.
- You can either use rum in the batter or rum extract. Don’t leave it out though – the rum/rum extract really contribute to the eggnog flavor.
- Stop mixing as soon as the dry ingredients and eggnog are incorporated and the batter is smooth. Otherwise the cake can become tough.
- If your cake appears to be stuck to the pan, try gently tapping/knocking on the sides of the pan to help release it.
And for more delicious eggnog treats, then be sure to try:
- Eggnog French Toast Bake
- Eggnog Cupcakes
- Eggnog Pancakes
- Eggnog French Toast
Eggnog Bundt Cake
Equipment
- bundt pan
Ingredients
Eggnog Bundt Cake
- 3 large egg whites
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- 2 ¾ cup cake flour (330 grams) see recipe notes
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter (112 grams) softened to room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- ¾ cup brown sugar (150 grams) light or dark
- ½ cup vegetable oil (120 ml) or canola oil
- 5 large egg yolks
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons rum (30 ml) or 1 teaspoon rum extract
- 1 ¼ cup eggnog (300 ml)
Eggnog Glaze
- 1-2 tablespoons eggnog (15-30 ml)
- 1 teaspoon rum (15 ml) or ¼ teaspoon rum extract
- 1-2 cup powdered sugar (120 - 240 ml)
Instructions
Eggnog Bundt Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325F (160C).
- Grease a non-stick bundt pan, ensuring to get into all of the creases. Then dust with flour. Or brush with pan release/cake goop.
- Whisk the egg whites until frothy, then add in ¼ granulated sugar and continue whisking until stiff peaks form. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder and salt. Whisk until evenly combined.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter, 1 cup granulated sugar and ¾ cup brown sugar until fluffy.
- Mix in the oil, egg yolks, vanilla extract and rum (or rum extract).
- Sift in about ½ of the flour mixture into the butter mixture. Whisk in until smooth.
- Whisk in about ½ of the eggnog.
- Sift in the rest of the flour mixture, and whisk in. Then whisk in the rest of the eggnog until the mixture is smooth. Stop mixing as soon as the mixture is smooth.
- Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Be sure to do this gently so that they keep the volume. When you're done, there should no longer be streaks of egg whites in the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 60-70 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and you see the edges starting to pull away from the pan.
- Cool in the pan for 15-30 minutes, then gently invert onto a wire rack to continue cooling.
Eggnog Glaze
- Whisk together 1 tablespoon eggnog, 1 teaspoon rum (or ¼ teaspoon rum extract) and 1 cup powdered sugar.
- Whisk in a little more eggnog or powdered sugar until the consistency is thin enough to drizzle but white in color.
- Place the cooled cake on the plate or cake stand you plan to serve it on. If the bottom is rounded, optionally saw it off using a serrated knife so that the cake sits flat on the plate.
- Drizzle/pour the glaze over the cake.
Notes
- Eggs: You will need 5 eggs in total for this recipe. However, you'll use 5 large egg yolks and only 3 egg whites.Â
- Flour: If you don't have cake flour, measure 2 ¾ cup all-purpose flour. Remove 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour. Then add in 5 tablespoons cornstarch (AKA cornflour). Sift together 3 times.Â
- Eggnog: Eggnog should be room temperature before making the cake. I developed this recipe using commercially prepared eggnog (without rum already added to it). I highly recommend using commercially prepared eggnog, as it will lead to more consistent results as different eggnog recipes have different amounts of sugar, flavorings, etc.Â
- Storage: Cake is best if enjoyed the same day that you bake it. It can be stored covered at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge. Let it sit on the counter and come to room temperature before enjoying. Bundt cakes freeze well. After the cake is fully cooled (but not glazed), wrap tightly in plastic, going through the whole in the middle of the cake. Then wrap the whole thing in foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then bring to room temperature before glazing.Â
- Nutrition: Details are an estimate only and based on 1 slice, assuming the cake is sliced into 12 equal pieces.Â
Nutrition
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