Eggnog Cake with Pink Marshmallow Frosting

This week has been filled with holiday songs, gift buying, gingerbread decorating, cake baking and advent calendaring. I’m trying to be fully present in the season despite the unusually warm weather here in East Tennessee.

This cake helped a little with that.

Let your heart be light, dear friends.  And your frosting, too.

So fluffy!

I chose a simple 7-minute frosting for this cake because it needed something that wouldn’t take away from the cake’s delicate flavor. It’s a nice compliment, not too sweet and so very light.  I really love the eggnog cake, too. Prepared eggnog is used in the batter, and it seems to help keep the baked cake nice and moist.

The Christmas tree decoration is made from a sugar cone. I can’t remember where I first saw this technique, but it’s really cute and as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Dip sugar cones into melted candy.

2. Roll dipped cone in sprinkles.

3. Place on wax paper until candy hardens.

See, easy! I went one step further and added metallic dragees to my tree using a little extra melted candy. I prefer the flavor of the almond bark from the grocery store, but you can also use candy melts available at most craft stores.

The little deer figurines are from Hey YoYo, but I painted them white with food-safe acrylic paint. I think they turned out pretty cute, and they add just the right amount of kitsch and nostalgia.

Eggnog Cake with Pink Marshmallow Frosting

Yield: One 9-inch double layer cake                                               [click for printable recipe]

Cake portion adapted from Taste of Home Magazine

Eggnog cake:

½ cup unsalted butter, melted

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs 

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup prepared eggnog

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease and flour two 8 or 9-inch round cake
    pans, set aside.
  2. Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl until
    light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a
    time, mixing well after each addition. 
    Add vanilla extract. 
  3. In a separate bowl, add the flour, baking powder and
    salt.  Whisk well to combine.  Gradually add the flour mixture to the
    creamed mixture alternately with the eggnog. Begin and end with the flour
    mixture. 
  4. Pour batter into the two round baking pans.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick
    inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in the pans, and
    then turn cakes out onto wire racks to cool completely.

Pink Marshmallow Frosting (7 minute frosting):

2 egg whites

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Pink gel food coloring

  1. Place all ingredients in a stainless bowl and set over a simmering (not boiling!) pan of water.  Beat mixture with a handheld electric mixer until thick and fluffy. This should take about 7 minutes. Remove bowl from pan of water and continue to beat frosting until slightly cooled. Add one or two drops pink gel food coloring. Mix well.  Frost cooled cakes immediately.

Note: If left uncovered, this frosting will become very gummy.  Keep under a cake cloche or in a plastic air-tight cake carrier.

Supplies:

Snowflake Sprinkles/Quins

Goldas Kitchen Dragées Multi-coloured

Americolor Soft Gel Food Coloring Deep Pink

Jimmies/Sprinkles Bottle, White

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Brittany Ray
Brittany Ray
11 years ago

This cake is gorgeous and sounds delicious!

Sugar Swings
Sugar Swings
11 years ago

so pretty! and love the sprinkle tree!!

Rosa's Yummy Yums
Rosa's Yummy Yums
11 years ago

A beautiful cake! I love those pretty decorations.

Cheers,

Rosa

Lindsey @ BakingBytes
Lindsey @ BakingBytes
11 years ago

If you were going to make cupcakes instead of a layer cake, would you change anything?

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
11 years ago

I think they'd make AH-MAZing cupcakes! Wouldn't change a thing!

Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

I ADORE this!

jamie @ green beans and grapefruit
jamie @ green beans and grapefruit
11 years ago

THAT frosting!!

_Julie_
_Julie_
11 years ago

I finally broke down and bought your book (at Mikael's) in October…it is such a great book. I can't wait to make this one for my family and friends.

Anonymous
Anonymous
11 years ago

Is it possible to make this frosting without an electric mixer? It's looks awesome!

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
11 years ago

Thank you _Julie_! That means the world to me!

Anonymous – I'm afraid you'd need an electric mixer. I think it would take too long to beat it by hand (not to mention your poor arm would be so tired!) and the whites might try to cook into scrambled eggs.

Wish I could be more help! xo

Cookin' Cowgirl
Cookin' Cowgirl
11 years ago

Beautiful! This is lovely!

Marialuisa
Marialuisa
11 years ago

What a beautiful cake!
Love from Spain
Marialuisa

Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

I love how you decorated this cake plus pink marshmallow…yes!

Carly
Carly
11 years ago

Your cakes are a dream–I could live on top of this one! So pretty!

Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

This cake is so pretty and whimsical. I love it 🙂

Heather
Heather
11 years ago

So cute with the tree atop the marshmallow mountain! Well done, as always~

Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar
11 years ago

This cake makes me giddy!

Megan
Megan
11 years ago

I'm trying to be present in the season despite it being soooo different this year than others. <3 Different's not always bad, right?

Love love love this cake! I think I may need to get some of those little dear deers for my birthday cake this year. 🙂

P.S. that tree is brilliant!

Sara
Sara
11 years ago

Yum, so pretty! What an incredibly gorgeous cake! And I love marshmallow frosting, yum.

Darla | Bakingdom
Darla | Bakingdom
11 years ago

Heather! I am so completely smitten with this cake. I want to freeze dry it and keep it forever and ever, just to look pretty in my house at Christmastime!

Veronika
Veronika
11 years ago

looks like silk pillow 🙂 beautiful

margaret
margaret
11 years ago

This is soooo beautiful – a winter wonderland! Thanks for the recipe.

Pilar
Pilar
11 years ago

Muy bonita, te felicito.
Me gusta todo lo que haces…!!!

*Pilar*

From Calculus to Cupcakes
From Calculus to Cupcakes
11 years ago

I am so going to have to try the ice cream cone Christmas tree!

Elena F
Elena F
11 years ago

If frosting cupcakes made from this, would you say to forgo the 7 minute frosting and use something like SMB? I'd be worried about the gummy issue 🙁

Sandra Lee
Sandra Lee
11 years ago

My family is going to think I'm nuts if I add one more dessert to the menu, but I have to make this.

Buttercream Bakehouse
Buttercream Bakehouse
11 years ago

great combo. Making eggnog cake next week.

Liz @ Tip Top Shape
Liz @ Tip Top Shape
11 years ago

This cake is beautiful! Very festive 😀

Anonymous
Anonymous
11 years ago

gorgeous, elegant, and fabulous!

Anonymous
Anonymous
11 years ago

could you recommend an alternative to the frosting that could be made by hand? thanks so much 🙂

Suzanne Perazzini
Suzanne Perazzini
11 years ago

What a beautiful cake – so simple and delicate. Great cone idea.

kita
kita
11 years ago

Have I told you lately, you blow my mind in a good kinda way. 🙂

Vicki Bensinger
Vicki Bensinger
11 years ago

I love this cake and the light pink marshmallow frosting. I could see using that on so many cakes. Great recipe. I look forward to making it.

Hey Yo Yo
Hey Yo Yo
11 years ago

I ADORE what you did with the reindeer toppers! I didn't even recognize them as my own! I thought they were a vintage treasure you must have found. Amazing!

Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

AGG! Pinning this NOW

sa
sa
11 years ago

I love the frosting on this cake. It's like a gorgeous pink snowscape. So christmassy!

Pink Patisserie
Pink Patisserie
11 years ago

Love the color scheme. The deer and tree, so festive and eggnog? Swoon worthy!!

kessgaveithell
kessgaveithell
11 years ago

This is amazing!
I love youre blog so much!

emily
emily
11 years ago

Would anything need to change to make this as a bundt cake?

Loretta E.
Loretta E.
11 years ago

What a gorgeous cake! I'm blown away by this one.

Lynna
Lynna
11 years ago

I love how you made the Christmas tree! This is a fabulous cake!

Sally - only gluten free baking
Sally - only gluten free baking
11 years ago

These are Christmassy and adorable. I love marshmallow frosting. I know what you mean about hot weather and Christmas, its easy to forget its Christmas in QLD Australia, no snow for us.

Lora
Lora
11 years ago

I love this beautiful fluffy Christmas dream cake. Lovely!

Anonymous
Anonymous
11 years ago

This looks so girly and gorgeous – love it! 😀

Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

This comment has been removed by the author.

Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

Hi i love in the UK and would love to make this beautiful cake but I can not seem to get hold of corn syrup or eggnog.
I have done a little research and I think the replacement for eggnog in the UK is Advocaat. I was also wondering if instead of using corn syrup I would be able to use golden syrup, which I would be able to get hold of ?

Heather Baird
Heather Baird
11 years ago

Hi Natalie,

Hi Natalie. Advocaat should work fine as a replacement. I haven't used golden syrup much, but several sources indicate that golden syrup can be used in place of corn syrup in equal amounts.

http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/tools-and-techniques/corn-syrup-questions.htm

Hope this helps!

Unknown
Unknown
11 years ago

O thank you very much for getting back to me. I was just worried that the advocaat was not the same and the cake might not turn out well.
Thank you very much for the link and ill be making this beautiful cake very soon 😀 happy holidays from all of us in the UK

Michelle
Michelle
10 years ago

this cake looks beautiful, the pink frosting, and the cone tree, gorgeous for winter. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Aurica
Aurica
10 years ago

hehehe, the snow it's back..back to eat and taste this delicious and marvelous cake 😉