Need the perfect Christmas cake? Look no further than this spiced eggnog layer cake! With brown butter eggnog cake layers, eggnog buttercream, and topped with homemade salted caramel; this cake fun, festive, and perfect for the winter holidays!
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What is Eggnog?
Eggnog is a classic Christmas drink that's made with cream, eggs, and nutmeg and usually a bit of alcohol! It's slightly sweet, creamy, and full of wintery spices. Eggnog is usually served cold but is also delicious warm. Most of the eggnog sold in stores is alcohol free so you can add your own bourbon or rum if desired!
One of the best things about using eggnog in baking, is that it's a simple 1:1 swap for milk!
You might also like these eggnog cupcakes or these eggnog cinnamon rolls!
Ingredient Notes
You just need a few simple ingredients to make this eggnog layer cake with salted caramel!
Cake Flour - I always use cake flour in my cakes because it makes them super soft and tender, but all purpose flour also works great!
Spices - Nutmeg is one of the classic spices used in eggnog, but you can replace with cinnamon if desired.
Eggnog - You can use your favorite store-bought eggnog or make your own!
Bourbon - This is optional, but I love adding a little bit of bourbon to the cake and frosting for extra rich flavor! You can also use spiced rum, or about 1 teaspoon of rum extract instead.
Salted Caramel - I prefer to use my homemade salted caramel to top the cake but any thick salted caramel sauce will work.
Brown Butter - My favorite ingredient of all time is brown butter!! Brown butter is just unsalted butter that has been melted and gently cooked to bring out a toasty, nutty flavor. If you've never made brown butter before, you can check out this post with all my tips for how to make brown butter!
I recommend making the brown butter the night before you make the eggnog cake, so that it has time to fully cool to room temperature!
Since both the cake layers and the buttercream call for brown butter, I find it easier to just make one large batch and then weigh out the difference using a kitchen scale (½ cup of butter weighs about 113 grams). However, if you don't have a scale you can just make two separate batches of brown butter!
The complete list of ingredients and amounts is located in the recipe card below.
How to Make a Three Layer Eggnog Cake
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted brown butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar until combined.
Then add in the eggs, vanilla, and bourbon and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the eggnog and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thick.
Lightly spray three 6 inch layer cake pans with pan spray. Pour ⅓ of the batter into each cake pan (they will only be about half full).
Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The pan should slide cleanly away.
Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature before trimming. Once the cakes are fully cooled. Using a sharp bread knife, trim the cakes until the layers are even.
In a small bowl, mix together the eggnog and bourbon for the cake soak. Place the bottom layer of cake on your cake stand and brush with about ⅓ of the cake soak. Then spread about ¼ of the frosting on top in an even layer.
Then top with the next layer and repeat. Place the final cake layer upside down so that the top of your cake is as even as possible. Smooth the rest of the frosting on the top and sides of your cake as desired.
Spoon the caramel sauce over the top and let it drip down the sides of the cake. If the caramel is too thick, microwave it for 5-10 seconds until the consistency of honey.
Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to let the salted caramel layer set.
How to Get Perfect Cake Layers
There are a few tricks that will help you get perfect, even layers for your eggnog cake!
First, you need good nonstick cake pans and pan spray. I use three 6×2 inch Fat Daddio’s layer cake pans and I love them!! It's super important to get actual layer cake pans because the sides are perfectly straight! It's a little annoying because this means you can't stack them, but your layers will have perfect sides! With just a tiny bit of pan spray, the cakes just slide right out and never stick! For pan spray, I love both Everbake Pan Spray and Baker's Joy!
Next, is trimming your cake. This can be a little tricky, but it's super easy once you do it a couple times. Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature, then take a large bread knife and very carefully slice off the very top of the cake so that you have a perfectly even layer. I like using a big bread knife because it's sharp, serrated, and long enough to go through the entire layer at one time.
This is optional, but you can also freeze the layers! After you've let the cake layers cool completely and trimmed them; wrap each layer tightly in plastic wrap in place in the freezer overnight (or at least 30 minutes). Don't take them out until right before you start assembling the cake! This allows the frosting to slide on smoothly and prevents any crumbs from getting in the frosting.
Tips for the Best Baked Goods
Use room temperature ingredients! Always make sure ingredients like butter, eggs, milk, yogurt, etc. are at room temperature before baking (unless the recipe indicates otherwise)! This ensures they'll incorporate into the batter more easily and leads to overall better texture. Remove all ingredients from the fridge 30 minutes to an hour before baking for best results.
Measure your flour correctly! It's most accurate to use a kitchen scale, but if you're measuring by volume you want to spoon and level! Fluff up the flour a bit with a spoon, and then spoon flour into the measuring cup. Once it's overflowing, use the back of a knife to level it off. Don't ever pack flour into the measuring cup or you'll end up with way too much! Improperly measured flour can lead to dry, dense baked goods. [Measure cocoa powder the same way!]
Use an oven thermometer! Just because your oven says it's 350, doesn't mean it is! If you oven hasn't been calibrated recently, it can be as much as 30 degrees off, which will negatively affect all baked goods from cakes to macarons! An oven thermometer is the easiest/cheapest way to ensure your oven is always at the proper temperature.
Make sure you baking powder is fresh! Baking powder is important for helping baked goods rise properly, but it has a relatively short shelf life once opened, so it's one of the few items I never buy in bulk! To test if your baking powder is still fresh, add a small amount to boiling water. If it bubbles it's still good to use, but if not it's time to toss it!
Cake Decorating Tips
I absolutely love my rotating cake stand! I hesitated buying one for a long time, but it really does make getting nice, even frosting so much easier!
My must have tools for frosting cakes are an offset spatula and an icing smoother. Both are super helpful in achieving that perfect, smooth outside frosting.
I use a 6 inch cake board to transfer my cakes from the turning caking stand, to the stand I like to photograph with.
I also like to just lightly brush the tops of the cake layers with an eggnog and bourbon mixture for extra flavor and to help keep the cake moist, but it's totally optional.
The best thing about this spiced eggnog layer cake, is that all you need to make it look beautiful is the salted caramel drip!
Recipe FAQ's
Store the eggnog cake in the fridge for up to 4 days. However, it will taste best when served at room temperature! I like to let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Of course not! You can absolutely substitute regular unsalted butter. I just love the flavor that brown butter adds and how it pairs with the salted caramel and eggnog.
This cake recipe is designed for 3 six inch cake pans. It will also work with 2 eight inch cake pans.
I prefer the taste and texture of homemade caramel, but you can use store-bought if that's what you prefer.
Just a little, but yes! The alcohol in the cake layers does cook off, but there is bourbon in the frosting too so this cake should only be served to people over 21. But it's just as delicious without the bourbon, so leave it out if you prefer!
Tips for Success!
For best results I always recommend using weight measurements (especially when baking) because it's the most accurate. Kitchen scales are super affordable and also reduce the number of dishes you have to do! However, all my recipes also include US customary measurements for convince. Use this chart to convert measurements for common ingredients!
Substitutions: In all my recipes, I've included substitutions that I know will work, but I cannot guarantee results if you substitute ingredients that I have not recommended. [For example, granulated sugar and honey are indeed both sweeteners but they have very different properties so they can not always be swapped 1:1. Using honey in a cookie recipe that calls for granulated sugar will yield a giant mess.] In the recipe card you'll find links to the specific ingredients/brands that I use.
A note on salt: I almost exclusively use Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt because it's the best all-purpose salt for cooking and baking. If you're not using kosher salt, consult this handy guide for a conversion chart! When in doubt, if you're using table salt just reduce the amount by half for baked goods. When cooking, I prefer to under-salt because you can always add more! If you've over-salted, adding a little bit of acid (like lemon juice) can help.
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Recipe Card
Eggnog Layer Cake with Salted Caramel
Special Equipment
Ingredients
Eggnog Cake
- 2 ½ cups cake flour, substitute all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted brown butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons bourbon, optional
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup eggnog
Cake Soak
- 2 tablespoons eggnog
- 2 teaspoons bourbon, optional
Brown Butter Frosting
- 1 ½ cups unsalted brown butter, room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons eggnog, more as needed
- 2 teaspoons bourbon, optional
Top With
- ½ cup salted caramel
Instructions
Cake Layers
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt together in a large bowl.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the melted brown butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar until combined.
- Then add in the eggs, vanilla, and bourbon and whisk until fully combined and smooth.
- Stir in about half of the flour mixture. Then stir in the eggnog and the rest of the flour mixture and mix until fully combined. The batter will be thick.
- Lightly spray three 6 inch layer cake pans with pan spray. Pour ⅓ of the batter into each cake pan (they will only be about half full).
- Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Place a cooling rack on top of each cake pan and invert. The pan should slide cleanly away.
- Let the cakes cool completely to room temperature before trimming. Once the cakes are fully cooled. Using a sharp bread knife, trim the cakes until the layers are even.
Cake Soak
- In a small bowl, mix together the eggnog and bourbon and set aside.
Brown Butter Frosting
- In a large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the softened brown butter until smooth.
- Add in the powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time until fully combined and smooth.
- Slowly drizzle in the eggnog and bourbon until fully incorporated. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes or until the buttercream is light and fluffy.
Assemble the Cake
- Place the bottom layer of cake on your cake stand and brush with about ⅓ of the cake soak. Then spread about ¼ of the frosting on top in an even layer.
- Then top with the next layer and repeat. Place the final cake layer upside down so that the top of your cake is as even as possible.
- Smooth the rest of the frosting on the top and sides of your cake as desired.
- Spoon the caramel sauce over the top and let it drip down the sides of the cake. If the caramel is too thick, microwave it for 5-10 seconds until the consistency of honey.
- Refrigerate for 2-3 hours to let the salted caramel layer set.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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