I absolutely love the idea of baked goods flavored with eggnog. I usually make my own eggnog so that the consistency and flavors can be customized for what you’re baking. It was in a glorious recipe hailing from Flo Braker’s book, Baking For All Occasions, where a cup of the batch I made last Sunday was used.
Putting it together is so simple – The batter is luscious, comes together easily and I love the flavor the rum soaked currants bring to it. I made a couple of tiny changes to the recipe – added a little more nutmeg than specified and altered the glaze.
I’m not a big fan of a plain sugar glaze so I whipped up a concoction of cream cheese, rum and sugar before generously glazing the cake. This did create a mild delay and even though the cake was freshly baked, I had to put it in the fridge to allow the cream cheese glaze to set. This is easily avoided if you already have the cream cheese glaze ready and apply it just before serving. Meanwhile, once I had taken it out the fridge, I microwaved it for 15 seconds and it turned out perfect.
Rum soaked currants, a punch of nutmeg and a luscious cream cheese rum glaze – This is an essential treat for your Christmas table.
- Scant ½ cup dried currants
- 2 tablespoons dark rum or water
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
- 8 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup store-bought refrigerated (rather than canned) eggnog
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup confectioners sugar
- ¼ cup rum
- In a small bowl, combine the currants and rum and set aside to macerate for 15 minutes.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and generously grease a 12 cup Bundt pan, l, then flour it, tapping out the excess flour.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg onto a sheet of waxed paper; set aside.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-low speed until creamy and smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Add the sugar in a steady stream and continue to beat on medium speed until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer still on medium speed, add the eggs, 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated and stopping the mixer occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- On the lowest speed, add the flour mixture in four additions alternately with the eggnog in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing after each addition until incorporated. Stop the mixer as needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla during the final moments of mixing.
- Detach the paddle and bowl from the mixer, and tap the paddle against the side of the bowl to free the excess batter. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the currants and any remaining rum. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly with the spatula.
- Bake the cake just until the top springs back when lightly touched in the center and the sides are beginning to come away from the pan, 55 to 65 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes while you prepare the glaze.
- In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until combined. Slowly add the rum, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating after each addition until you’ve reached the desired consistency.
Welcome to day #3 of Christmas Week, a multi-blogger event co-hosted by Kim of Cravings of a Lunatic and Jen of Juanita’s Cocina. Today’s theme for Christmas Week is “Christmas Cakes and Cupcakes”. Make sure you visit all the participating bloggers today to see what special dish they whipped up for you.
Speaking of eggnog in baked goods, these eggnog muffins I shared on Muffin Monday last year truly promise the traditional holiday flavor in a streusel muffin, delicate and delicious. One of my all time favorite recipes.
The theme for #BundtaMonth is Boozy December. Hop over to check out what we’ve baked so far and come and join the party.
Happy Baking!
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