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Cut these cake bites into diamonds and garnish with icing sugar to make a beautiful (and edible) holiday snowflake.
1 1/2 cups cake and pastry flour, (180 g)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 egg whites
1 cup granulated sugar, divided (192 g)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup homemade rum eggnog, (link to recipe below)
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup icing sugar, for garnish
1. Position rack in centre of oven and preheat to 350F. Line a 9 × 13-in. baking pan with parchment.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg into a medium bowl.
3. Beat egg whites, using an electric mixer on medium-high, in another medium bowl until foamy, about 2 min. Continue beating, gradually adding 1⁄3 cup granulated sugar until medium-stiff peaks form, 3 to 4 min more. Set aside.
4. Beat butter with remaining 2⁄3 cup granulated sugar, using same mixer (no need to wash beaters), in a large bowl until fluffy and pale yellow. Beat in eggnog and vanilla. Beat in flour mixture at low speed just until combined.
5. Gently fold egg white mixture into eggnog mixture, using a rubber spatula, until no streaks remain. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake until top is golden and a cake tester inserted into centre of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 min. Let cool in pan for 10 min. Remove cake from pan and invert, top-side down, onto a wire rack. Let cool completely, about 1 hr. Refrigerate cake overnight.
7. To arrange eggnog cake into a snowflake pattern, cut cold cake lengthwise into 1 1/4-in.-long strips. Then cut each strip diagonally into seven 1 1⁄2-in. diamonds. (Cake should yield about 42 diamonds.) Place cake diamonds on a wire rack. Sift icing sugar over top. Transfer to a platter, arranging in a snowflake pattern, if desired. (One snowflake will use 18 cake bites.) Let come to room temperature before serving.
Our homemade rum eggnog is delicious and easy to make. Or, use your favourite supermarket eggnog.