Eggnog Poke Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why is my poke cake soggy? ›

Make sure the holes aren't too close together or too far apart—if they're too close together, your cake could be too moist; if they're too far apart, there may not be enough filling throughout the cake. Once you've poked holes throughout the cake, pour the filling on top.

Add The Right Amount

Here's your golden ratio for pop-up holiday cheer: Combine 1 part of your selected spirit to 5 parts prepared eggnog. Want us to make it even easier on you? If you buy a 1-quart container of eggnog, you should use 6.5 ounces of liquor, total.

How to Spike Store-Bought Eggnog. Aim for a ratio of about five-to-one of eggnog to your selected spirit for the best flavor. For each 8-ounce glass, add one shot (1.5 ounces) of alcohol.

Add 1/4 to 3/4 cup of liquor per quart of eggnog (starting with the lower amount and adding more as needed). We like spiced rum, bourbon, or brandy best.

Bake cakes according to box directions! Let cakes cool for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and cool for an additional 15 minutes.

Refrigerated eggs with clean, uncracked shells can still be contaminated with Salmonella bacteria. Eggs must be cooked to 160 degrees F to kill bacteria such as Salmonella that may be present. If your eggnog recipe calls for raw eggs, it may not be safe.

To avoid your eggs curdling, slowly add some of your milk into your egg and sugar mixture. Whisk, whisk, whisk! Once everything is combined, you can re-add everything to your saucepan. Add the pure vanilla extract and alcohol of your choice.

Boozy eggnog will also continue to thicken in the fridge as it ages.

Eggnog is typically made with rum, brandy or bourbon, and Brown likes to start with a combination of dark rum and cognac. But there's no need to go premium; he recommends using an affordable, high-proof VS cognac. The higher alcohol level will cut through the sweetness of the rest of the ingredients.

For the brandy eggnog, Korbel VS was the brand of choice, and it produced a perfectly balanced drink. This eggnog had a nice sweetness in every sip, which paired admirably with the creamy egg base.

What can I use instead of brandy in eggnog? ›

Common choices of alcohol to add to eggnog include brandy, rum, bourbon or whisky.

What do I do with a cake that's too wet? Rebake it for a few minutes at the temperature you originally baked it at. If only the middle of the cake is partially cooked, remove the fully cooked edges and rebake just middle part.

Problem: The edges of my cake are soggy.

This happens when the cake isn't turned out onto your cooling rack soon enough and condensation has built up on the inside of the tin.

Use baking strips to avoid a wet cake

Baking strips are just strips of fabric or insulated foil that wrap around the edge of your cake tin and stop the edges of the tin from getting too hot too quickly. This stops the edges of your cake from cooking faster than the middle, therefore avoiding a wet middle.

Soggy bottoms

This normally happens when the oven is not hot enough or the pastry is not baked for long enough. However, it can also be because too much water was added to the dough.