In the spirit of trying new things, especially around the holidays, I picked up some eggnog to give these cupcakes I’d seen on Annie’s blog a shot. I didn’t take a close look at the recipe before I ran to the store so I ended up with eggnog that was not low-fat. Ooops. In any event, these cupcakes came together quickly (no mixer required) and baked up nicely. I wasn’t sure how apparent the eggnog flavor would be, but even after baking, the scent of the eggnog and rum was fairly strong. Since there’s also eggnog and rum in the frosting, I knew these cupcakes probably weren’t going to be a hit with anyone who didn’t also really enjoy eggnog. I loved how cute the finished cupcakes looked garnished with cinnamon and cinnamon sticks, but I didn’t love the taste. The eggnog flavor was too strong for me. Fortunately, my mom found some coworkers who thought they were delicious so no wasted cupcakes!
By Tracey
Eggnog Cupcakes
from Annie’s Eats
Ingredients:
For the cupcakes:
- ¼ cup dark rum or bourbon
- 1 cup low-fat eggnog
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
For the frosting:
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- 3 tbsp. lowfat eggnog
- 1 tbsp. rum
- generous pinch of nutmeg
- 2 (or more) cups confectioners’ sugar
- ground cinnamon
- cinnamon sticks
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. In a small bowl, mix together the rum, eggnog, vegetable oil, apple cider vinegar, and vanilla extract. In a large bowl, mix together the nutmeg, sugar, flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. Divide evenly between prepared muffin wells.
Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed. Cool in the pan 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting, cream together the butter, eggnog, rum, nutmeg and confectioners’ sugar. Add in more confectioners’ sugar if needed to make the frosting stiff, but spreadable. Frost the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with cinnamon and garnish with a cinnamon stick.
