Well, we did it.
We’ve all weathered 2020.
Let’s happily kick this year out with a smile and ring in 2021 with some class.
This Vegan Egg Nog Cake is a sure way to do just that!
Gold trimmed and perfectly spiked with a punch of rum & brandy in every bite for that authentic Egg Nog taste, all layered up into one spectacular cake!
I’m finally showing you all how to make my most acclaimed recipe in my BakeBook from 2018 Modern Vegan Baking~ The Super Easy Vanilla Cake recipe!
I’m not sure why it took me so long to show you all this particular cake recipe.
I guess because I was having a 3 year long love affair with my Best Vegan Vanilla Cake recipe from here on my website.
But with a year like we’ve all had I need the easiest possible EVERYTHING in my life, and this Super Easy Vanilla Cake recipe from my book is exactly that!
It’s a one bowl mix that literally takes minutes to throw together, exactly 30 minutes to bake and the egg nog custard and buttercream can be whipped up while you wait!
By adding brandy & rum to my base recipe for vanilla custard, this cake quickly transforms into a New Year’s Eve celebration cake to remember!
All sparkly & adorned in gold with a cinnamon & nutmeg spiced buttercream that’s also been spiked up with a little bit of holiday cheer!
The combination of these three very easy recipes will have you almost wishing the holidays would stick around just a little but longer, because I have a feeling this cake won’t last until tomorrow!
Oh and don’t forget the Egg Nog Cake Balls!
I mean, in all honestly you could just make those and still be the hit of 2021!
All you need is an extra layer of cake and a spot of buttercream; some cinnamon, nutmeg, clove & that leftover brandy & rum you have yourself a garnish that can also stand alone as dessert!
Completely optional addition to this cake but well worth the tiny effort it takes to make!
As I mentioned in my video introduction for this recipe, I sort of had a midnight moment where I got up out of bed, decided to dis-assemble this entire cake, pull out the custard recipe and mix it with whipped cream for a more bavarian cream style filling as opposed to just the custard that I originally intended.
Unfortunately I did not catch any of that midnight mania on video, but I will list below the 2 variations for the standard egg nog custard (*as shown in the video) or the lighter whipped cream addition which is simply folding in 1½ cups of whipped cream into the cooled prepared custard as listed below.
You can choose whatever filling you prefer as well as which cake style you may like better; since remember I am sharing a new recipe here which is more dense like a pound cake versus my original vanilla cake recipe you may already be familiar with.
The buttercream is my American style buttercream but don’t forget I have 5 recipes to choose from here on my website!
Just be careful with the Swiss & Italian style buttercreams when you are adding more liquids (here we are using rum & brandy) it could have a tendency to make the emulsion break!
Which is often why I stick to the hearty, stable & delicious American style version!
Plus I’m super lazy!
You will notice in the video I am building my cake in a cake ring, this is not 100% necessary, but helpful with a soft filled cake like this one. You can use a springform pan with the bottom removed if you do not want to purchase a professional bakery cake ring.
- For the cake recipe
- Soy Milk 1½ cups (355ml)
- White Vinegar 1½ Tablespoons
- Vegan Butter ½ cup (113g)
- Coconut Oil *Or any vegetable oil of your choice ½ cup (117ml)
- Granulated Sugar 1¾ cup (350g)
- Salt ½ teaspoon
- Vanilla Extract 2 teaspoons (10ml)
- All Purpose Flour 3 cups (375g)
- Baking Soda 2 teaspoons
- For the egg nog buttercream
- 1 recipe Buttercream of your choice *I recommend the American Style Buttercream *see note above in the text of the article
- Ground Cinnamon ½ teaspoon
- Nutmeg ¼ teaspoon
- Cloves pinch
- Brandy 1½ Tablespoons
- Rum 1½ Tablespoons
- For the egg nog custard:
- Soy Milk 2¼ cup (533ml)
- Granulated Sugar ¾ cup (150g)
- Cornstarch 6 Tablespoons (50g)
- Turmeric ⅛ teaspoon *optional for color
- Vegan Butter 1½ Tablespoons (21g)
- Vanilla Extract 1 teaspoon (5ml)
- Brandy 1½ Tablespoons
- Rum 1½ Tablespoons
- *For the Bavarian Cream variation
- 1 cup SILK Heavy Whipping Cream *or 1 cup whipped cream of your choice
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Prepare your cake pans with pan grease and a parchment paper liner.
- First combine the coconut oil (*or vegetable oil of your choice) with the vegan butter together in a small sauce pot and gently melt over a medium heat.
- Combine the soy milk with the vinegar and let stand for 5 minutes to thicken.
- Add the vanilla extract to that and then add the melted vegan butter & coconut oil combination to the thickened milk mixture
- Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, including the sugar.
- Pour the wet ingredients in and whisk smooth
- Divide the batter evenly between the 3-7" pans and bake immediately in the preheated oven for approximately 27-30 minutes or when you gently press the centers they are springy to the touch.
- Cool in the pans until you can safely touch without burning yourself then turn the cakes out onto a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.
- Prepare the buttercream recipe of your choice *I recommend the American Style Buttercream as per the recipe on that blog post/recipe and at the last stage of mixing add the cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, rum & brandy.
- Set aside.
- Once the cakes are completely cooled, begin to prepare the custard by combining the sugar & cornstarch with the soy milk and turmeric *if using* in a medium sauce pot, bring to a boil while stirring constantly.
- Once the mixture boils, remove from the heat and add the vegan butter, vanilla extract, rum & brandy and whisk smooth.
- If you are making the bavarian cream style filling, be sure to cool the custard all the way before folding in the whipped coconut cream.
- Build the cake as shown in the video
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! 🙂 I wanted one more festive bake to ring out 2020 and ring in 2021 and this will be it, this is perfect. However, as I am from the Caribbean I will have to revise it slightly to being a vegan ponche a creme cake instead of eggnog lol.
LOL! Awesome!! I know it will be perfect!!
what if you wanted to do without the oil?
I have not tried this with an addition of applesauce as a sub for SOME (not all) of the oil, but I think it would be worth a try
Hi Gretchen, i loved the recipe, but my cakes sank a little bit in the middle 🙁
I used two 20cm pans instead of three (my oven is quite small, sadly). my guess is that this is the culprit because i followed the recipe exactly…I need a bigger oven!
But it is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS, so thank you!!! This will be my first decorated cake ever. Looking forward to getting your book <3
Greetings from Peru!
Oh no! But, yes that would be the problem! Too much batter in a pan will cause it sink because although it will look like it is rising up beautifully, it will eventually have no place to go but down! Never fill pans more than half full for optimal baking success!
Thank you so much for the support & I think you are the first one to make this recipe!! Woohoo!!
Hi Gretchen love the Bavarian cream!!! I would like to make the cake balls. Have had bad luck with vegan white chocolate. Do you have a link or brand or direction you could send me in? And also have been following you since the beginning. Truly amazing!
Hi Thank you!! I use King David – I like the taste and think it is the best for baking and coating CLICK HERE to see it