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