This stunning holiday cake is the next best thing to eggnog in a cup or in creamy pie form. The dense yet tender cake highlights the incomparable flavor of eggnog, while rum, nutmeg, and currants add a complementary dimension.
Bake it in your favorite patterned Bundt or tube pan, and brush the cake with the rum glaze while it’s still warm. As the cake cools, the crystallized topping clings attractively to the crevices and them crinkles, creating a special effect.–Flo Braker
Why Our Testers Loved This
Barb P. loved this eggnog pound cake recipe because “it’s easy to make, attractive when glazed, studded with currants, and festive with the tastes of eggnog and nutmeg.”
Virginia H. joined in with her comment, calling it a “great cake” with “good texture and aroma.”
What You’ll Need to Make This
- Currants–You could substitute any dried fruit here, if you prefer, such as dried cranberries, blueberries, or raisins.
- Rum–For both the fruit soak and the glaze, if you prefer to use a different liquor, feel free to swap in brandy or bourbon.
- Eggs–For best results, use room temperature eggs.
How to Make This Recipe
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour your Bundt pan, tapping out any excess flour.
- Mix the currants and rum. Let them soak for 15 minutes. Combine the dry ingredients.
- Beat the butter until smooth. Beat in the sugar until fluffy, then slowly add the eggs, scraping the sides of the mixer occasionally.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the eggnog to the mixer. Stir in the vanilla, then fold in the currants and any rum remaining in the bowl. Pour the batter into the Bundt pan.
- Bake the cake until the sides are beginning to pull away from the pan. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Make the glaze. Combine the sugar, rum, and water in a small bowl.
- Release the cake onto a wire rack. Brush the glaze over the cake, then let it cool completely before serving.
FAQs
Yes. You can soak the currants in water, and for the glaze, add extra water or eggnog in place of the rum.
Yes. The cake can be frozen, wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 months. For best results, freeze the cake unglazed, and add the glaze after defrosting.
Helpful Tips
- Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Use a Bundt pan that has a capacity of at least 10 cups.
More Great Eggnog Dessert Recipes
Write a Review
If you make this recipe, or any dish on LC, consider leaving a review, a star rating, and your best photo in the comments below. I love hearing from you.–David
Eggnog Pound Cake
Equipment
- 10-by-3-inch Bundt pan or a 10-by-4 1/4-inch tube pan (with or without a removable bottom)
Ingredients
For the pound cake
- Scant 1/2 cup currants
- 2 tablespoons dark rum or water, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, preferably freshly grated
- 2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup refrigerated eggnog, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the crystal rum glaze
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons dark rum
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
Make the eggnog pound cake
- Center a rack in the oven and crank up the heat to 350°F (175°C) or, if the pan has a dark finish, 325°F (160°C). Butter a 10-by-3-inch Bundt pan or a 10-by-4 1/4-inch tube pan (with or without a removable bottom) and then flour it, tapping out any excess flour. (If your pan has an intricate design or detail, take the extra precaution of spreading it first with solid vegetable shortening, followed by a coating of nonstick spray, and then a dusting of flour to ensure the finished cake releases in one piece.)
- Combine the currants and rum in a small bowl. Let them soak for 15 minutes.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg.
- Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-low speed until creamy and smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. 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 4 additions alternately with the eggnog in 3 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing after each addition just until incorporated. Stop the mixer as needed to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix just until combined.
- 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, 50 to 65 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes while you prepare the glaze.
Make the crystal rum glaze and glaze the cake
- In a small bowl, combine the sugar, rum, and water and stir with a rubber spatula just until blended.
- Tilt and rotate the cake pan while gently tapping it on a counter to help release the cake. Invert a wire rack on top of the pan, invert the cake onto the rack, and carefully remove the pan. Slide a sheet of waxed paper under the rack.
- Using a pastry brush, coat the top and sides of the warm cake with the glaze, using every last drop. Let the cake cool completely before serving.
- To serve, slide the base of a tart pan, a small rimless baking sheet, or a large offset spatula under the cake and carefully transfer it to a serving platter. Thinly slice the cake with a sharp or serrated knife.
Notes
- Storage–Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezing–Wrap in plastic and freeze for up to 3 months. For best results, freeze the cake without the glaze.
- Bundt pan–Use a Bundt pan that has a capacity of at least 10 cups.
- Ingredients–For best results, use room temperature ingredients.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This eggnog pound cake recipe earns a high rating because it’s easy to make, attractive when glazed, studded with currants, and festive with the tastes of eggnog and nutmeg. It was a little too sweet for my taste, as I tend to think of pound cake as less sweet than many of its frosted cake relatives, but it was not so sweet that many would be turned off.
Timings in the recipe were basically correct. I used rum instead of water for the currants.
Great cake! Good texture and aroma. Sourcing eggnog in England is tough, however, I bought some from Starbucks and it worked fine.
I would probably add a touch more rum syrup and nutmeg to bump up the flavor. This would be a great cake for a brunch. Could easily swap any dried fruit for the currants or omit them.
Delicious, delicious, delicious. I made this for Christmas 2008, and it’s good enough to become a tradition. The cake was moist and delicious, with a very nice, very slight crunch from the glaze. I used homemade nonalcoholic eggnog in place of store-bought: 1 egg, approx. 1/4 cup heavy cream, just under 3/4 cup milk (i.e., enough to bring the measure up to 1 cup), and a generous amount of fresh-grated nutmeg. I used golden raisins in place of the currants and soaked them in dark rum as directed. Part of the cake stuck to the pan even though I had buttered and floured it, but I rearranged the broken piece as best I could and once the glaze set it wasn’t very noticeable. The cake tasted just as good the next day, too.
Bundt cake pans can be temperamental. When I think that I’ve prepped one with just the right amount of butter, I add a skosh more. Good thing you have some architectural skills. I’m glad you enjoyed the cake.
the ingredients for eggnog- just mix n fridge? or need heating? apologies, i’m the least cooky person ever, but still, i try…it’s currently march! hence needing a recipe for nog…
i don’t have a bundt pan. could this still work as a regular cake?? also, why does the finish of the pan effect the bake temp?
Shelley, not to worry; we have lots of “least cooky” folks around here. The eggnog in the recipe is the type you buy at the store. No need to create your own. And you need it to be room temperature.
The cake would still work in a regular pan, but I’m not sure of the size you would need or how long you would have to bake it, as we didn’t test it that way.
Darker pans can cause a cake to come out darker, hence the different directions.
Would it be okay to delete the currants from recipe? How would that effect the taste?
Hi Mareesa,
Leaving currants and/or raisins out of the recipe is acceptable and would certainly work but you’ll be losing a dimension of texture and flavor. You might consider substituting chopped walnuts. In the end the important thing is that it suits your taste so take creative license and enjoy!
I’d love to make this for when my son comes up this Christmas as he loves eggnog. I prefer golden raisins to currants. Would that be an appropriate substitution?
Hi Lorrie,
I think that golden raisins would be a fine substitution for the currants in this recipe. I would use the same measurement (1/2 cup) and macerate as Flo instructs. Let us know how you like the substitution!
I’m making this again this year and really looking forward to having a slice. My home-made vanilla extract isn’t ready yet so I’ll use a bean. I’m OK with the flecks.
Hi Tiny Banquet, I actually love to see the flecks. Let us know how it works out!