12 Days of Christmas, Day 11: Eggnog Cake

One of my Mister's favorite things to have around the holidays starts appearing on shelves even before Thanksgiving now (seriously....could people START celebrating Christmas after Thanksgiving instead of the day after Halloween?  Thank you.) which seems odd to me because it is most widely consumed at Christmas and not any other time of the year unless you make it at home.

Eggnog.

Excuse me while I vomit in my mouth a little...  *gags*  There.  All better.  

I'm not sure what it is but, I've never been able to handle the texture of the drink, the thickness of it, or even the copious amounts of nutmeg that they use to try to cover up the fact that you're drinking liquified egg with a dash of cream.  But, for whatever reason, the Mister loves it.  He and I clash on a number of flavors (ahem...beans on toast) and textures (again...beans on toast) and sometimes even methods of cooking (He cracks an egg into a pan, lets it cook a couple seconds and then attempts to scramble it in the pan.  It never does.  The whites never fully mix with the yolk so it results in dry, narsty whites and an over all feeling of shredded rubber in your mouth when you eat it.  He wonders why the 4.5 year old won't eat his eggs in the morning.).  So, the eggnog thing is something we've just decided to agree to disagree on in our household.  *mentally adds it to the list of the other billion things*

I see thousands of cartons of eggnog in stores every year and wonder who these people are.  I only know one.  It can't all be for him.  So, one can deduce there are a lot of folks out there that like the flavors associated with eggnog.  It's Christmas...the season of perpetual hope...so why not extend the olive branch to the person who should matter most (next to my children of course..).  I bought him a carton of eggnog.  He drank it.  Show's over right?  Nope, still not satisfied.  You know those folks who want to love the same things their spouses love...sometimes?  Yeah, I am one of those...

I love all things baked.  So, getting to love eggnog in terms of baking seemed easy enough to translate.  You just pick things apart to get to the heart of the matter.  Eggs, milk, nutmeg....you get the idea.  That is how the idea of eggnog cake was formed.

Eggnog Cake
18 T. (2 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 c. buttermilk, at room temperature
1 T. vanilla paste or vanilla extract
1 T. lemon juice
2 c. sugar
3 large eggs + 1 yolk, at room temperature
1/4 c. brandy
1 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
1 1/2 c. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease and flour your cake pan (I use a 12 cup sized bundt pan) and set it aside.

Combine flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a small bowl and set it aside.  In a small mixing bowl whisk together buttermilk, lemon juice, and the vanilla.  In the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar together until they are slightly pale and fluffy.  Add in the eggs, one at a time and the yolk.  With the speed on low add in the flour mixture and the butter milk mixture alternating starting with the flour.  (It would be best if you used a paddle that had a scraper on the side or stop to scrape down the sides after each addition.)

Combine 1 c. of the prepared batter with 1 T. of brandy, nutmeg, and the cinnamon in a separate bowl and stir it until it is well mixed.  Spread 1 c. of the plain cake batter into the bottom of the cake pan and then spread the spiced batter over that.  Spoon the remaining batter over the spiced batter and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Allow to cool on a cooling rack for 10 minutes then invert the pan and turn out the cake onto waxed paper.  Allow to cool completely before putting the icing on the cake.

To make the icing mix the powdered sugar with 3 T. of brandy OR 3 T. of buttermilk (I used buttermilk) and allow it to cascade down the edges of the cake.  Let the icing set before serving.  It will take about 25 minutes.

Alright, fine.  So....this cake was mildly awesome.  I can see some of the merits of the combination of eggs, nutmeg, and buttermilk.  To me, personally, fresh is best when it comes to this sort of thing.  I prefer things to be made right before I eat them.  This cake was no different.  I could learn to love eggnog in this form easily enough.  The cake was moist and tender and the icing kept it that way and it also helped lend a hand in the constant battle of cake having to be consumed with a glass of milk.  The icing was enough.  The true test was...did the Mister like it.  The answer was yes!  He absolutely liked it.  His parents happened to love it as well.  If you need me, I'll just be over here in the corner....being awesome.  (If you knew me...you'd know I don't really believe that lol...)