Spiced Eggnog Bundt Cake

Eggnog. It is one of my favorite things about the holidays.  Seriously.

Problem is, I can't drink it too much because I am lactose intolerant. Go figure.  So I had to come up with a way to get my eggnog fix without having to go into the fridge and drink it straight from the carton.  Enter 'Spiced Eggnog Bundt Cake.'  Genius!  I searched through blogland and took a bit from this recipe and that recipe until I had something that sounded like it would address my cravings.  It did. Bigtime!

I went a little overboard with the 'drizzle' but who cares?  It tastes great!

See that swirl of spice goodness in the middle?  That my friends, is heaven on a plate!

For the Cake

1 cup of butter, softened

3 cups of sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups of sifted cake flour

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 cup of eggnog

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

2 tablespoon of dark rum or brandy (optional)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 

3/4 teaspoon of ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice 

1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves

Glaze

1 cup of sifted powdered sugar

2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon of heavy cream or whipping cream

(I made a little extra glaze to drizzle on when serving)

Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan. It is important to use the larger pan or you will have issues with the cake falling (trust me on this one. I speak from experience!)  If you have a large angel food cake pan that would probably work too.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cake

In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes or until creamy.

Gradually add sugar, beating 5-7 minutes.

Add eggs, one at a time mixing just until yoke is incorporated.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Add to butter and sugar mixture alternating with eggnog starting and ending with flour mixture. 

Stir on low speed just until blended after each addition.

Stir in vanilla and if desired, rum.

Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.

Stir the cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and cloves in the remaining batter.
Spoon spiced batter over plain batter and swirl together using a knife.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in pan for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
Remove from pan and cool on rack.

Glaze
Combine sifted powdered sugar and heavy cream.

Transfer cooled cake to a plate and pour glaze over it.

If you are like me, you will be too impatient to wait for the cake to cool completely.  If you find yourself in this predicament, you can pour the glaze over the cake while it is still warm and using a spatula, spread it over the entire cake.  After it hardens, you can use any remaining glaze to drizzle over cake when serving.