Egg-Nog-A-Saurus

Rawr

This is a two day project for optimum results. It is best to make the egg nog the day before you make the cake for the flavours to develop. The recipes for the cake and the egg nog come from the Preppy Kitchen blog (https://preppykitchen.com/eggnog-cocktail/, https://preppykitchen.com/eggnog-cake/). It is a sheet cake, not a layer cake. Thus, it was a perfect cake for my dinosaur cake pan. For ease, I have broken the instructions into phases.

Phase 1: Make the egg nog

This recipe comes from Preppy Kitchen (https://preppykitchen.com/eggnog-cocktail/). I have not altered it. This may not be your usual go-to egg nog recipe, but I would recommend using it because it is the one that the recipe is built around.

Ingredients:

6 large eggs

1 cup granulated sugar 200g

1 tablespoon vanilla paste

Vanilla extract will also be fine if you do not have vanilla paste

1 cup/240ml bourbon

1/2 cup/120ml spiced rum

1 ¼ cup / 300ml double cream

1 ¾ cups /420ml whole milk

c. ½ tsp cinnamon

c. ½ tsp nutmeg

Instructions:

Separate eggs yolks and egg whites.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a whisk attachment, beat the egg yolks, sugar and vanilla paste on medium high speed until thick and light, c. 5 minutes.

Scrape the bowl down at least once.

Slowly add bourbon and rum, and whisk until combined.

Slowly add cream, continue whisking for 1 minute, then slowly add milk and whisk.

Scrape the bowl down at least once.

Set this mixture aside to chill for a minimum of 3 hours, or overnight (preferable)

In a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form.

Fold whipped egg whites into the yolk mixture, along with the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Phase 2: Make the Cake

This cake is another recipe that requires stages. You need to make the custard first, and allow it to cool before starting on the cake. This cake recipe comes from the Preppy Kitchen blog (https://preppykitchen.com/eggnog-cake/).

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

2 ½ cups all purpose flour 300g

½ tsp salt

4 teaspoon baking powder 16g

¼ teaspoon allspice 250mg

½ teaspoon cinnamon 1g

¾ cup unsalted butter 170g, room temp

1 ½ cups sugar 300g

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 5mL

½ cup sour cream 125g

6 egg whites

1 ¼ cup eggnog 296mL

For the Custard:

⅓ cup/65g caster or granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

¼ teaspoon salt 1g

2 ¼ cups/540ml egg nog

3 egg yolks

splash bourbon.

For the Icing:

1 1/2 cups/340g butter

3 ¾ cups /450g icing sugar

c. 10 tablespoons/150ml eggnog

c. 2 tsps cinnamon for optional dusting

Instructions:

For the Custard:

In small saucepan, whisk sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in eggnog and egg yolks.

Whisk over medium heat until thickened.

Remove from heat and mix in a splash of bourbon.

Transfer to a bowl and cover the surface with plastic then chill for a minimum of 3 hours, up to overnight.

For the Cake:

Preheat oven to 350˚F/180˚C and prepare a large sheet cake pan (8 x 13" or similar) with butter and flour or a parchment lining.

Sift the flour, salt, all spice, cinnamon and baking powder into a large bowl, whisk together and set aside.

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter, then mix in sugar.

Scrape the bowl down at least once in this process.

Beat in vanilla and sour cream.

Beat in the egg whites slowly, then mix on medium until combined.

Make sure to give the bowl a good scrape at this point.

Add the eggnog and flour mixture in 3 alternating batches starting and ending with the flour. Scrape the bowl down one last time and mix until combined.

Pour into batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for c.10 minutes, level the cake if necessary, then Invert onto a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Remove the parchment paper if using.

For the Icing:

In a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter until light and fluffy, c. 5 minutes.

Slowly beat in icing sugar and mix until fluffy.

Slowly add in the eggnog and mix until desired consistency is reached.

Add food dye if you want to

Phase 3: Put it all together!

Poke the cake all over using a rod-shaped tool.

The handle of a wooden spoon also works fine.

Using a piping bag with a smallish round tip, fill the holes with the pudding.

Spread the rest of the pudding over the cake, top and sides.

Add scoops of buttercream to cake, smooth out the buttercream until covered.

You can also of course, do some fancy piping if you want, and decorate it as you please.

(I lost power, I decorated this cake by the light of my phone. That is why it kind of sucks)

Dust top with cinnamon (optional).