{mini} eggnog pound cakes.

Is it normal to eat pound cake for breakfast?

Seriously…I’m confused about pound cake’s purpose in life. Is it supposed to be eaten as dessert? All this coming from a person who eats cupcakes for breakfast.

Hi. Clearly, I don’t follow the rules.

But at least I know what the rules are supposed to be for cupcakes…pound cake, I’m not so sure. Pound cake doesn’t seem like something I want to eat for dessert. It doesn’t seem rich enough. Right – because a cake that gets its name from being comprised of one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, and one pound of eggs isn’t rich.

Let me backtrack here. Pound cake is rich…fine. I’ll give you that. But something about it just screams breakfast to me. Is that wrong? I don’t think so. These pound cakes are especially nice for breakfast because they taste like eggnog. And they’re dripping in a rummy-nog glaze. Rum for breakfast? I’m in.

What’s that? Not enough rum in this glaze to make breakfast? Go ahead…take a swig. ‘Tis the season!

I fell in love with the idea of eggnog + baking, and this is what I dreamed up. I was between French toast and pound cake, and this is what I settled on. Then, I became obsessed with making miniature pound cakes – they could not be regular loaves, they must be mini – and so I borrowed these adorable mini bundt pans from the office. Seriously – how friggin’ cute are mini bundt cakes?

I tweaked what I knew would be a great basic pound cake recipe – by the way, this is Elvis’ favorite pound cake recipe, just sayin’ – by replacing some of the eggs with eggnog, a little of this and that, and truth be told, it didn’t have the eggnog flavor I was looking for. I wanted more! I’m a glutton for eggnog, how can you not be? We only get it once a year, after all…

When there’s not enough eggnog flavor, whip up a simple eggnog glaze, and BAM – you’re there. Miniature eggnog pound-bundt cake heaven.

Eggnog Pound Cake

Adapted from Gourmet

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan
• 3 cups sifted cake flour plus additional for dusting
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs, at room temperature for 30 minutes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/4 cups eggnog
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Spiked Eggnog Glaze

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• Splash of dark rum or brandy
• Splash of eggnog
• Pinch of nutmeg

Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven. Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour. Sift together sifted flour (3 cups) and salt into a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times total).

Beat together butter (2 sticks) and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then all of eggnog, then remaining flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down side of bowl, add nutmeg, then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny.

Spoon batter into pans – either a large bundt pan or a small load and 20 mini-bundts as I did – and rap pan(s) against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Place in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 1 to 1 1/4 hours if you’re making one large cake, 40-55 minutes for a loaf pan, and 20 – 25 minutes for mini-bundts. Cool cake in pan(s) on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert onto racks to cool completely.

Make the glaze: Start with a small dash (about a tablespoon) each of liquor and eggnog. Whisk, adding more if necessary until you reach desired consistency. If you add too much liquid and the glaze becomes too runny, you can always add more sugar. Add nutmeg to taste.