When I was young, I didn't have cable so I only watched a handful of shows. I would watch reruns of Family Matters, The Full House, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air on a daily basis and never get sick of it. There is one episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air in which Geoffrey, the butler, drinks eggnog for the entire show. He drinks glass after glass as if his life depended on it, while thoroughly enjoying every gulp (mostly because of the alcohol, I'm sure). As silly as it sounds, that one episode spurred my curiosity about this holiday drink. Many people told me that eggnog is not as tasty as it appears, so until I finally try a glass, I will stick to eggnog-inspired desserts. If the beverage tastes anything like this eggnog coffee cake, sign me up for a glass!
Recipe
Eggnog Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Oat crumble
- ½ cup butter (113 grams)
- ¾ cup old-fashioned rolled oats (70 grams)
- ½ cup packed brown sugar (100 grams)
- ½ cup chopped toasted pecans (55 grams)
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour (40 grams)
Cake
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (272 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ cup butter plus 2 tbsp, softened (85 grams)
- 1 cup brown sugar (200 grams)
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ cups eggnog (373 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 9-inch cake pan with cooking spray or butter.
- Make the crumble. Melt ½ cup butter and let cool. Combine the butter with ¾ cup oats, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup chopped pecans, and ¼ cup flour. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Combine dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large bowl.
- Make the cake. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy and well combined, about 3 minutes. Add egg, eggnog, and vanilla and beat until combined. Add the dry ingredient mix, and stir just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the crumble in an even layer on the batter. Bake for about 45 minutes - 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
The beauty of coffee cakes is that there are so many variations yet they are all easy to prepare. This eggnog variation is also a cinch to put together even with the special crumble.
Your key ingredients for the cake are the usual basics including flour, sugar, butter, and egg. To turn this into an eggnog coffee cake, we're adding spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, vanilla, and of course, eggnog.
Start by making the oat crumble. Normally crumbles are made with cold butter but I discovered that melted butter yields a better topping. By melting the butter, it mixes better with the ingredients and creates a lovely crust on the cake. When you use cold butter, if it's not fully incorporated with the dry ingredients, it can become dry.
Set aside the crumble and make the cake. Simply mix the wet ingredients then add the dry ingredients, stirring just until mixed. If the flour is overworked, the cake can become tough. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread the crumble in an even layer. Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Serve the eggnog coffee cake warm or at room temperature. I loved the bits of pecans throughout the moist and light cake and the hints of nutmeg and cinnamon. The cake itself was the perfect amount of sweetness, unlike other coffee cakes that are loaded with sugar. Now I think it's time for that eggnog!
For more cake inspiration check out this sweet potato cake with marshmallow meringue!
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