Egg Nog Pound Cake

Hello, my friends! And welcome to Day 3 of the Twelve Days of Pound Cake 2022! Today, we’re playing with a classic holiday cocktail and making it even better. Today, Egg Nog Pound Cake is on the menu, and it is truly AMAZING.

**Alexa, play Bing Crosby’s “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.”** Because this cake takes me straight to the December holiday season and that’s positively my favorite time of the whole year!

This cake is oh-so-deliciously dense in texture, and it’s a little nutmeggy and a little rummy, just like your favorite holiday drink.

But it’s cake so that’s better (and I shan’t debate the point). The calories will sneak into your body, but at least you’ll be able to drive home!

About this Egg Nog Pound Cake

When I was developing this cake, I wanted a classic pound cake texture. I call it “pleasantly plump” because it’s the dense pound cake texture that you can walk around with in a napkin and not drop a crumb (because you’ll want to eat every one).

You can make it more boozy if you’d like, but if you’re serving children, you can definitely make a version that has all the best elements of egg nog without the rum (yes, I use rum in my egg nog). Either way, this cake is an absolute winner that the whole family can enjoy!

Let’s talk about this cake, shall we?

The Cake Ingredients

All-Purpose Flour: I love the pleasantly plump texture of a good pound cake. In my experience (and with my cakes), that beautiful texture comes from all-purpose flour. In this cake, the all-purpose flour helped me achieve the texture that I really wanted.

Baking Soda: Egg nog is surprisingly acidic! So I added baking soda to this cake to ensure proper rise.

Kosher Salt: The kosher salt in this recipe really helps ensure that the true egg nog flavor comes through, and that the cake doesn’t get cloyingly sweet. If using table salt, cut the amount in half.

Nutmeg: Nutmeg is a very dreamy spice to me.  I use it when I want to add warm flavor to a dish that’s also slightly sweet (but not like sugar).  It works perfectly in this dish, but a little goes a long way!

Unsalted Butter: I typically prefer butter-based pound cakes over oil-based pound cakes. For this cake, I chose butter over oil because I wanted the flavor, as well as the additional aeration that creaming butter and sugar would add.

Granulated Sugar: In this cake, granulated sugar adds sweetness and caramelization. That beautiful crust on the outside of your pound cake? It is largely because of the amount of sugar in your recipe!

Eggs: The protein in the eggs adds structure to the cake, while the fatty yolk adds delicious flavor.

Rum or Rum Extract: I really wanted this cake to have the best of egg nog, so I had to add a teensy bit of rum to the batter. The rum warms up the flavor, but the alcohol evaporates during baking, so it is safe for the little ones! Don’t want to worry about this? Rum extract works too!

Pure Vanilla Extract: This cake calls for two teaspoons of vanilla extract. Make sure to use the good stuff, like Nielsen-Massey, for this incredible recipe! Whatever brand you use, make sure you use pure vanilla extract.

Egg Nog: I had to use egg nog! It’s the quintessential ingredient and it adds such tremendously perfect flavor to this cake! You can make your own or use store bought. Totally up to you.

Let’s get into this cake!

Beginners Start Here

If you’re new to baking, or if you want to brush up on basics, here are a couple of super helpful articles from the BwB site that will help you get set up for success with this Egg Nog Pound Cake.

• My Favorite Bundt Pans
• Meet Your Kitchen BFF–Your Digital Kitchen Scale!
• Technique Tips for the Best Pound Cakes (& Big News!)
• How to Cream Butter and Sugar (With New Video!)
• Baking 101: How to Measure Ingredients
• How to Grease a Bundt Pan
• The Best Tools for Perfect Pound Cakes
• Knowing When to Stop a Technique

These resources are super helpful to help you build consistency and confidence on your baking journey. Happy Reading!

Important Tools Used in this Egg Nog Pound Cake

Below, you’ll find some tools that I used for this pound cake. These are the tools that I use in my kitchen for just about everything that I bake.

**I get paid a small commission if you purchase directly from these links, but they are truly amazing products that you’ll find in my kitchen.**

If you have them already, great! Think of this as a checklist to help you build the confidence that you’ll need to execute this recipe!

• Oven Thermometer
• Digital Food Scale
• KitchenAid Hand Mixer
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer 
• Stainless Steel Mixing Bowl Set
• OXO Spatula Set
• Sifter

This cake screams “Happy Holidays” to me and I just love it so much. It’s a hug from a long-lost relative. It’s a surprise visit from that friend that you haven’t seen in a while. (You should call them by the way. ????) This cake is the best of the holiday season in one perfect bite.

This gift is a blessing and a curse sometimes. 

Enjoy the recipe, Friends! See you tomorrow for Day 4!

Egg Nog Pound Cake

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5 from 6 reviews

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This Egg Nog Pound Cake screams holiday season!  Whether you’re a teetotaler or you want to booze it to the hilt, it’s an amazing addition to your holiday table that will leave you filled with warm delight!

• Total Time: 5-7 hours
• Yield: 18 servings 1x

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

For the Cake Batter:

• 384 g (3 c) all-purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 227 g (1 c) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 500 g (2.5 c) granulated sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp rum extract (or real rum)
• 6 eggs, room temperature
• 250 g (1 c) eggnog, room temperature

For the Butter Rum Simple Syrup (optional):

• 84 g (1/3 c) water
• 67 g (1/3 c) granulated sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1–2 tbsp rum
• 2 tsp butter

For the Rum Glaze:

• 240 g (2 c) confectioner’s sugar
• 1/8 tsp fine sea salt
• 1–1.5 tbsp whole milk
• 1 tbsp rum (or omit rum and add a second tbsp of whole milk)
• 1–1.5 tbsp heavy cream
• Decorating sugar (optional)

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Instructions

To Make the Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.  An oven thermometer will help you reach the right oven temperature; our ovens are often off, and that makes a huge difference!
2. Sift all-purpose flour, baking soda, nutmeg, and kosher salt into a medium bowl.  Set aside.
3. Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.  Mix the butter until it is completely smooth.
4. Add granulated sugar and cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Take your time with this step!  (Not sure what properly creamed butter and sugar should look like?  Take a look here!)
5. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing until each egg is completely incorporated.  Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.  
6. Add the vanilla and mix until completely incorporated.
7. Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
8. Add all of the egg nog and mix until just incorporated. 
9. Add the other half of the flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.  Give the batter several turns with a stiff spatula.
10. Prepare the bundt pan as your normally would (I use the butter/flour method, and you can see how to do that right here!).  
11. Add the batter to the pan.
12. Bake for 60-70 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer reads 210°F-215°F.  My Goldilocks temp is 212°F. 
13. Remove from the oven and allow to place on a cooling rack, in its pan, for ten minutes.  Place a piece of parchment paper under the cooling rack!
14. After ten minutes, invert the cake onto the cooling rack. 

To Make the Optional Butter Rum Simple Syrup:

1. Combine water, sugar, vanilla and salt in a small sauce pan.  
2. Bring the mixture to a boil, then whisk occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved.
3. Remove from the heat and add rum and butter.   Stir gently until the butter is completely melted.  This recipe makes enough butter rum simple syrup to brush the cake one time.
4. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the butter rum simple syrup over the entire cake.  This step can be repeated multiple times while the cake is warm.  It’s recommended to wait about ten minutes between simple syrup layers.
5. If you’re trying to make a more boozy cake, you can poke holes in the top of the cake and pour the butter rum simple syrup directly over the holes.  I would only recommend doing this once though.
6. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing. (3-5 hours)

To Make the Rum Glaze:

1. Add the confectioner’s sugar, fine sea salt, one tablespoon of whole milk, and rum (if using, otherwise add one more tablespoon of whole milk) to a medium mixing bowl.  Stir until the mixture is mixed but clumpy.  If all of the confectioner’s sugar won’t incorporate into the clumpy mixture, add another 1/2 tbsp of whole milk.
2. Add heavy cream to the mixture and stir until smooth.
3. The final glaze should have the consistency of very thick honey.
4. Pour over the cake with a spouted measuring cup, squeeze bottle or a spoon.  
5. Wait for 3-5 minutes, then add decorating sugar (if using) for an additional pop of sparkle and crunch!
6. Enjoy!

Notes

• The Butter Rum glaze is completely optional in this cake!  You can absolutely add a plain simple syrup to this cake as well.

• Author: Shani
• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 60-70 minutes
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

Meet the other cakes from the Twelve Days of Pound Cake 2022!