The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of dedicated bakers who all love cake. Each year we choose a new cake-centric cookbook and bake our way through it. Every month we are given 3 choices and on the 20th day of each month we reveal what we have chosen on our blogs. This month's choices were Spiced Eggnog Cake with Rum Buttercream, Wintery Pavlova with Port Cranberries, or a Chocolate Peppermint Bûche de Noël. My husband is a big fan of eggnog, so it made my choice very easy.
It has been hard lately for me to carve out time to bake, which is a shame since it is such an excellent stress-reliever (although I do stress over taking the photos sometimes) and produces yummy rewards. I really wanted to make this cake but not a lot of time, so I decided to make some tweaks so that it was still the same basic cake, but without the time-consuming buttercream. Honestly, I am really not a big buttercream fan anyway. It is so sweet and always seems to overwhelm a cake and try to become the star of the show. Or maybe that is just my tastebuds changing as I get older. Anyway, I decided to make the cake as a bundt, and as I had leftover batter I also made a loaf cake. I then decided to top both with a glaze which I made by mixing powdered sugar and some eggnog, and a little bit of Bundaberg Rum from Australia. I also halved the milk in the cake recipe and replaced the other half with eggnog - why not at this time of the year when eggnog is readily available? This cake had such a smooth batter that I knew it was going to produce a tender crumb in the cake, and it sure was delicious.
Spiced Eggnog Cake with Rum Buttercream
Ingredients
Cake ~
- 220g (1 cup) light brown sugar
- 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 115g (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temp, cut into 8 pieces
- 3g (1½ teaspoons) nutmeg
- 2g (1 teaspoon) cinnamon
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 115 ml (½ cup) sunflower or grapeseed oil
- 15 ml (1 tablespoon) real vanilla extract
- 4 ml ( 1 teaspoon) rum extract
- 430g (3 cups, plus 3 tablespoons) all-purpose flour
- 5g (1 teaspoon) baking powder
- 5g (1 teaspoon) baking soda
- 6g (1 teaspoon) sea salt
- 240 ml (1 cup) whole milk, at room temperature
- 180g (¾ cup) sour cream, room temperature
Spiced Rum Soak ~
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 55 ml (¼ cup) boiling water
- 55 ml (¼ cup) good quality rum
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
Spiced French Buttercream ~
- 200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
- 150 ml (⅔ cup) water, room temperature
- 8 large egg yolks
- 345 g (24 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 24 pieces
- 8 ml (2 teaspoons) milk
- 4 ml (2 teaspoons) real vanilla extract
- 2g (1 teaspoon) nutmeg
- garnish - fresh grated nutmeg
Preparation
Cake ~
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ (350℉).
- Grease two 20-cm (8-inch)round cake pans and line with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the brown sugar, granulated sugar, butter, nutmeg, and cinnamon and mix on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure each is well blended before adding in the next, and periodically scraping the sides and the bottom of the bowl so that everything is well blended.
- With the mixer on low, stream in the oil.
- Add in the vanilla and rum extract and mix for about 1 minute or until combined.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- In a large, liquid measuring cup whisk together the milk and the sour cream.
- Alternate adding the flour and the milk mixture in two batches, mixing each until just combined.
- divide evenly between the prepared pans, tapping on the counter to release any trapped air bubbles and smoothing the top with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 40 to 45 minutes or until puffed and the center bounces back when gently pressed.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, and after 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges and turn the cakes out onto the rack to cool completely.
Rum Soak ~
- Combine the sugar and boiling water in a small bowl and whisk until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- Whisk in the rum and the nutmeg and set aside to cool.
- Once the soak and the cakes are cool, brush the soak over the top of the cakes, allowing time for it to absorb.
Spiced Buttercream ~
- Add the sugar and water to a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-low heat and cook for 20 minutes or until it reaches 115℃ (240℉). Note: the sugar will be completely dissolved, but it should not have changed color. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn't start to darken and don't stir it as, don't want to splash the liquid up the sides of the pan.
- When the sugar water is almost ready, add the egg yolks to a bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and whisk on high for 4 minutes, or until they have lightened in color.
- When the sugar water is ready, turn the mixture on medium-low speed and slowly stream the screaming-hot sugar water in toward the side of the bowl - be careful not to hear the whisk.
- Once all of the sugar water is added, turn the mixer on high and whisk until the bottom of the bowl feels cool.
- Once cool, turn the mixer down to medium and add in the butter, one chunk at a time, making sure it is completely blended before adding the next chunk.
- Add in the rum extract, vanilla, and nutmeg and run the mixer for 30 seconds more.
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and give it a couple of good stirs with a spatula to get rid of any air bubbles.
Assembly ~
- Place one cake layer upside-down on a cake plate and cover with an ample amount of buttercream.
- Place the second layer over the top, right side up, and cover with the remaining buttercream.
- Use an offset spatular or the back of a spoon to make all of the swoops and swirls.
- Finish with a dusting of fresh grated nutmeg.
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
It is a new year and a new book - The Cake Book: Beautiful Sweet Treats for Every Craving - and our choices for November 2024 were ~
Wintery Pavlova with Port Cranberries
- No one from the group choose to bake this cake
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