A richly spiced, fragrant and delicious cake with vanilla butter cream and a whipped cream and strawberry filling... |
| Eggnog cake |
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| All the good things. |
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| You cut the butter up, you put it in piece by piece, it looks just like damp sand then you add the eggnog! Easy! |
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| All ready to go into the oven with my 'bakeven' strips...highly recommend these strips for a nice even cake. |
I used eggnog in this cake which I bought at the supermarket, but you could make your own if you felt like really going all out. There are lots of lovely recipes around. A good use for the leftover eggnog is mixing it with Baileys to drink while your cakes are baking! I got a good four cups in. Extra Christmas cheer and all that.
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| Who wants Baileys? |
The method in this cake is a little different, and the teaching comes from the most wonderful baker and one of my most favourite sites on the whole wide internet - Sweetapolita. This lady is simply amazing and her site is (along with Nigella's of course) my happy place online.
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| So this is what the first layer will look like...and the second too, really. |
So instead of creaming the sugar and butter together then adding dry ingredients, in the traditional method, this recipe rubs in the butter to the flour of sorts. The first time I tried this method, I failed miserably but on my second attempt, it yielded the moist and fluffy cake that I know and love. So make sure you follow the directions carefully - trust me, you'll be so happy you did.
This is what the layers of buttercream may look like:
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| You put your first, thin coat of butter cream on, the crumb coat... |
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| ...then you have a Baileys. |
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| You put your second layer of buttercream on... |
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| ...then you have a Baileys. |
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| You put your third layer of buttercream on... |
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| ...and then you have a Baileys! YAY! |
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| And then all your hard work pays off! Have a Baileys to celebrate! |
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| Pretty. |
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| Awww look at the tree! |
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| Lovely Christmas. |
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| Lovely cake! Open up, here come Santa's Sleigh! Choo choo! Choo choo? Yeah, why not. |
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| Merry Christmas everyone! |
Have a look back at the weeks of Christmas Baking past:
Week 1 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Christmas Star Cherry Tart with Cinnamon Honey Roasted Macadamia Ice Cream
Week 2 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Raspberry Jam Drops
Week 3 of Four Weeks of Christmas Baking: Rum Ball Trifle
Eggnog Cake
Adapted from Sweetapolita Strawberry and Lavender Cake
Prep time: 50 mins
Cooking time: 25 mins
Total time: 1 hr 15 mins plus refrigeration time for icing
Servings: 12
Eggnog cake
4 whole eggs, room temperature
2 egg yolks, room temperature 300ml eggnog, divided
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups plain cake flour, sifted
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon bicarbonate soda
2 cups caster sugar
250g butter, cold and cut into small even pieces
Vanilla Buttercream
400g soft butter
4 cups (500g) icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
60ml cream
White food colouring (optional)
White food colouring (optional)
Strawberry Jam and Whipped Cream Filling
2 teaspoons powdered gelatine
2 tablespoons cold water
1 & 1/2 cups cream
1/4 icing sugar
250g strawberry jam
2 tablespoons lemon juice
Eggnog Cake
- Preheat oven to 180°C
- Grease three 8 inch/20cm cake tins generously with butter and flour the sides. Line the bases with baking paper.
- Add the egg yolks, eggs, 60ml of the eggnog and vanilla in a jug with a spout and beat lightly and set aside.
- Sift together with flour, ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and bicarbonate soda into the bowl of a mixer.
- Add sugar and turn to mixer on to a low speed.
- Add pieces of butter to the flour with the mixer on low in 10 second intervals until all the butter is added. Mixture should look like damp sand.
- Add the remaining 240ml to the mix and beat on a medium speed for 4 minutes.
- Scrape sides of bowl then turn the mixer back to a medium speed
- Add the egg mixture very gradually to the batter until all the egg mix is added then turn the mixer up to a high speed and mix for 1 minute. Ensure egg is fully combined.
- Divide the mixture evenly among the three pans and bake for 25 minutes.
- Turn on to wire racks to cool after 5 minutes, remove baking paper and allow to cool completely.
Vanilla Buttercream
- Add butter to bowl of electric mixer and beat on high for 10 minutes.
- Add the icing sugar, cream and vanilla and beat until all combined and smooth.
- Add white food colouring and beat until colour is consistent.
- Set aside until required.
Strawberry Jam and Whipped Cream Filling
- Add gelatine to a small bowl and then add cold water. Mix and set aside for 10 minutes.
- In a small saucepan, heat 1/2 cup cream until it just begins to simmer then take off the heat and add gelatine. Whisk to combine and then place in fridge.
- Keep whisking the gelatine and cream every 2 minutes, placing back into the fridge in between, until the cream reaches a cool temperature.
- Whip the remaining 1 cup of cream with icing sugar until soft peaks just begin to form.
- Very gradually add the cool gelatine and cream mixture while beating and continue beating until medium-firm peaks form. Once medium peaks being to form, cease beating or cream with turn lumpy.
- For jam mixture, add the jam and lemon juice to a small saucepan and place on low heat.
- Bring to a gentle simmer and stir for 1 minute.
- Decant to a bowl to cool and set aside until required.
Assembly
- Place first cake on a cake board then pipe 1/2 the cream mixture on top, leaving a 1/2 inch space from the edge of the cake. Create a dam for the jam to go in.
- Place half the jam into the prepared area.
- Carefully place the second layer on top and repeat cream and jam steps.
- Place the last layer on top.
- Fill in any gaps in between the layers with buttercream.
- Spread a thin layer of buttercream over the entire cake and place into the fridge for 30 - 45 minutes. This is called a crumb coat.
- Take the cake out and spread another layer of buttercream onto cake. Repeat as necessary until cake is smooth and completely covered with buttercream.
- Decorate as desired.
