BAKE: Easy Eggnog Pound Cake

• Eggnog Pound Cake Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment Needed
• How to Make Eggnog Pound Cake
• Easy Eggnog Pound Cake
• Looking for more holiday recipes?

This rich, moist, eggnog pound cake is an easy baked holiday treat to enjoy for a simple festive dessert, a rich brunch or breakfast treat, or snack.

It has a dense crumb and soft texture that’s very nice enjoyed by the slice all by itself, either plain or toasted. If you want a fancier dessert, try it topped with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream, or a custard or hard sauce. You could pair it with fresh fruit or a citrus or cranberry compote for a lighter option.

Either way, this eggnog pound cake recipes makes a decadent snack or easy dessert for the winter holidays, and it freezes well, so you can enjoy it even after eggnog season! I like to bake it in mini-loaf pans, which are perfect for gifting, and defrost quickly when frozen.

Eggnog Pound Cake Ingredients

Flour:

All-purpose flour is best for a tender cake, though you can substitute up to half with whole wheat flour. It will be a denser, less tender cake but still delicious.

Sugar:

This recipe uses granulated white sugar. You can substitute turbinado or demerara sugar for the white sugar for a stronger flavor and caramel color. Do not use brown sugar.

Eggnog:

Use the best quality premium eggnog here for best results, made with real sugar, eggs, milk, and fresh cream. Using a non-fat or low-fat eggnog, a non-dairy nog, or one with lots of binders, thickeners, and fillers may change the texture, color, or flavor of the finished cake.

Eggs:

You’ll need three large fresh eggs for one batch of this pound cake.

Butter:

Unsalted sweet cream or cultured butter. If you substitute salted butter, you may want to reduce or omit the salt.

Vegetable Oil:

Use a light, neutrally flavored oil, like canola, grapeseed, or vegetable oil blend here.

Baking Powder:

Fresh baking powder gives this cake a lift! While traditional pound cakes rely on just the lightening power of well-creamed butter and eggs (and the air bubbles that get trapped in that emulsion) the baking powder means your eggnog pound cakes will be light and springy and almost foolproof.

Vanilla Extract:

Your eggnog will be doing most of the flavoring here, but a little extra vanilla goodness in your baked goods is never a bad thing! Use good quality natural vanilla extract for best results.

If you want to amp up the eggnog flavor even more, a tiny pinch of nutmeg (preferably freshly grated if you can get it) and 1/8th – 1/4 tsp of rum flavoring extract will give it a more spirited flavor.

Salt:

Salt is critical in baked goods and cakes and keeps them from tasting flat and insipid and balances the sweetness from the sugar and eggnog. Don’t skip the salt!

If you use salted butter, you may want to reduce or omit the salt (brands of butter vary in their sodium content- some are very salty and others aren’t).

Kitchen Equipment Needed

Stand mixer with paddle attachment, or large mixing bowl and hand mixer:

Creaming the butter thoroughly is a cinch with a stand mixer, or even a bowl and hand mixer. You can make this cake by hand too with a sturdy, wide wooden spoon or spatula, but it’s a bit more of a workout.

But hey, that burns calories, which means you can eat even more cake, right? But remember, you never have to justify or “earn” eating cake. Still, developing strong arms is pretty cool even though rich foods are morally neutral no matter how many calories they have… take that, diet culture!

Rubber spatula or bowl scraper:

Use a sturdy rubber or silicone spatula or bowl scraper to scrape down the bowl periodically when using a stand mixer to make sure the whole mixture is getting blended and there aren’t any lumps on the sides (especially at the bottom “horn” of the bowl where the beater can’t reach)

Baking pans:

You can bake this as four mini loaves (perfect for gifting, or to freeze some for later), one oversized loaf pan, or in metal cupcake tins or silicone baking cups.

If your loaf pan is a one pound loaf pan or smaller, you may end up needing to make some cupcakes to use up the extra batter. Fill the pans between half and 3/4 full. If you overfill them, they may overflow when they bake.

Butter and flour your pans, or brush them with “cake goop”. If they’re nonstick, you can just spray them with pan spray if you prefer.

How to Make Eggnog Pound Cake

cream butter & oil:

• Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃ or gas mark 4).
• Cream the softened butter until it is light in color and fluffy, then drizzle in the vegetable oil and continue to whip until combined.

mix dry ingredients:

• Combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small to medium mixing bowl.
• Whisk or sift well to combine, and set aside.

add eggs to mixer:

• Break the eggs individually into a small bowl (in case there are bits of shell)
• With the stand mixer running, whip them into the butter one at a time until the mixture is emulsified and uniform.
• Add the vanilla extract to the eggnog and mix just to combine, then add about one third of the eggnog to the egg and butter mixture.
• It will separate a bit, but this is okay. It will come together in the next step… just make sure there aren’t any large lumps.

add dry ingredients:

• Add the dry ingredients in thirds, alternating with the remaining eggnog.
• Folding by hand or mix the batter lightly on low speed. Stop to scrape the bowl between the additions.
• Mix just until the batter is well-combined.

pour batter in pans & bake

• Pour or scoop the batter into your prepared pan or baking tins, filling them between half and 3/4’s full.
• Place the cakes on the center rack of your preheated oven.
• Bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and the middle of the cake is set and golden brown.
• Bake cupcakes about 15-20 minutes, mini loaves 30-40 minutes, and 40-55 minutes for a large loaf pan (loaf pan dimensions vary).
• The cakes are done when the tops are domed, light golden brown, and a skewer inserted in the cracks in the center comes out clean.

cool eggnog cakes:

• Let the cakes cool for a few minutes in the pans.
• Run a thin bladed spatula or cake knife around the edge of the pan to help them release easily.
• When they are just cool enough to handle, turn them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.