Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake

I hope everyone had a fabulous Thanksgiving! I am still so full, but it was all worth it. I remade a lot of recipes that I have put on this blog this past week for family members that I have not seen in a while. We started off on Wednesday night, having my parents, all of my siblings and nieces over for dinner. Corby served up his now-famous BBQ with coleslaw and a potato and bacon hash that was out of this world. I made a salad and used the Pimento Cheese pop-overs instead of croutons. Since we were having BBQ, my brother and his wife brought Bourbon Banana Pudding- I don’t have the recipe yet, but apparently it is from Joy of Cooking, and it was so so so good.

The next day, I made the Prosciutto Cheese Straws for a pre-Thanksgiving dinner snack- fantastic and a huge hit with my brother and father, and for Thanksgiving Day dessert, I made the Chocolate Bread Pudding that was the Le Creuset recipe contest winner, and it was just as good as I remembered it! We also got an Apple Crisp from The Co-Op on Sullivan’s Island (www.thecoopsullivans.com). The Co-Op is a great little grocery/deli that serves up great sandwiches and amazing homemade desserts- definitely check it out!

So despite the fact that it is 80 in Charleston today, I am now gearing up for Christmas- how is that possible!!! We are headed to NYC this weekend for a visit, and I am so excited to get some cold weather to get into the Christmas spirit. We are also going to my sister’s annual gingerbread house building party on Sunday, before we head home, which we have not been to in a long time and should be so fun! To also help get into the Christmas mode, here is a recipe I love from Christmas with Southern Living from back in 2005- Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake- enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups sifted cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup eggnog
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brandy (optional)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Powdered sugar
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon whipping cream

Preparation

Generously grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan; set aside.
Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer about 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add granulated sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears.
Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with 1 cup eggnog, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla and, if desired, brandy.
Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Stir cinnamon and the next 3 ingredients into the remaining batter. Spoon spice batter over plain batter. Swirl batters together, using a knife.
Bake at 350° for 50 to 55 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool on a wire rack.
Place cake on a cake plate; dust with powdered sugar.
Combine 1 cup powdered sugar and whipping cream, stirring until smooth. Drizzle glaze over the cake

Spiced Eggnog Pound Cake