Contest Winning Eggnog Cake -- The Birthday Cake I Couldn’t Be There to Slice

The GISH shop class visit was Monday. I arrived at 10:15 a.m., Mr. Kinney met me at the side door, and I followed him into a shop classroom that smelled like cutting oil and 18 boys and one girl. They stood when I came in — Mr. Kinney had told them to — and I told them they did not have to stand for me, that they could sit, and they did not sit for twenty seconds because Mr. Kinney had not said sit, and then Mr. Kinney said sit, and they sat. High school students. They respond to the people in the room who have earned their respect. Mr. Kinney had earned theirs. I wanted to earn theirs too.

I talked for forty minutes. I read a paragraph. I took questions for thirty minutes. A boy named Avery Buchanan asked me if truckers really sleep in the truck; I said yes, I described the sleeper, I drew it on the whiteboard (poorly; I cannot draw). A girl named Ivy asked me if I was ever scared, alone, on the road, in the dark; I said yes, once, in 2009, at a truck stop outside Tulsa, and I told the story carefully, no drama, and she listened with her mouth slightly open. Mr. Kinney's eyes got wet when I read the paragraph about Larry from the book. I signed ten copies at the end for ten students. I signed Tyler's copy of the book again while I was there, because he asked, and I wrote "To my son Tyler" in it in front of his whole class, and he turned red and did not speak for the rest of the day but at dinner that night he said, "Mom. That was the best thing I have ever seen at school." Tyler rarely uses the word best. I noted it.

Drove an Omaha run Wednesday and Thursday. Worked on the Minneapolis TV outline in the hotel Wednesday night, which Sarah wanted me to prepare. She wrote, "Know the three stories you want to tell. Tell them no matter what the host asks." I wrote the three stories. (1) The 12-volt slow cooker and the chili. (2) Larry, the Peterbilt, the heart attack. (3) Darla, the cake, the dedication.) I do not want to tell them. I will tell them. That is the job.

Justin's 15th birthday was Wednesday. I was on the road. Dave handled it. Burgers, cake (of course), a weighted vest for running he had wanted. Dave FaceTimed me at the cake part. Justin blew out the candles. He looked at the camera and said, "Love you, Mom." He said it in front of Dave and Josie and Tyler. He said it without prompt. He has been quiet lately. He just said it, on FaceTime, across a hundred miles, on his 15th birthday, and I had to pull over at the next rest stop and sit in the truck for ten minutes. A child like Justin does not say that word lightly. I am keeping it. I will keep every time he says it. There will not be enough of them in our lifetimes. I want to count them.

Justin’s 15th birthday came and went while I was somewhere between here and Omaha, and Dave did everything right — the burgers, the candles, the weighted vest. But I have been thinking about that cake ever since, the one I wasn’t standing next to when he blew out those candles. When I am home for the next one, I want to make something worth the occasion — something warm and a little extra, the kind of cake that says I was paying attention even from a hundred miles away. This eggnog cake is exactly that. It is a celebration cake. It tastes like you meant it.

Contest Winning Eggnog Cake

Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 30 min | Total Time: 55 min | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 cup eggnog (full-fat, store-bought or homemade)
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon rum extract
• Eggnog Buttercream Frosting:
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1/3 cup eggnog
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, plus more for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans, then line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat butter and granulated sugar with a hand or stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3–4 minutes.
4. Add eggs and extracts. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla and rum extracts.
5. Alternate wet and dry. Reduce mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the eggnog in two additions, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined — do not overwork the batter.
6. Bake. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake for 28–32 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops are lightly golden.
7. Cool. Let cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely before frosting, at least 1 hour.
8. Make the frosting. Beat butter on medium speed until very pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add powdered sugar one cup at a time, mixing on low. Add eggnog, vanilla, and nutmeg; beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, 2–3 minutes. Add a splash more eggnog if needed to reach a spreadable consistency.
9. Frost and finish. Place one cake layer on a serving plate and spread a generous layer of frosting over the top. Set the second layer on top and frost the top and sides. Dust with additional ground nutmeg before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 77g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 190mg