High Altitude Cardamom Eggnog Cake

This high altitude cardamom cake with fluffy eggnog buttercream is the perfect cake for the holidays. The cardamom spice cake is so soft and moist, spiced with cardamom, nutmeg and espresso powder. Rich and creamy eggnog makes a fantastic buttercream that’s silky and fluffy, the flavor perfectly complementing the spiced cake. And the beautifully piped, draped buttercream is reminiscent of an evening at the ballet to see The Nutcracker.

You might also love this eggnog coffee cake, cardamom almond star bread, and cardamom orange cinnamon rolls.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Perfect for the Holidays. Make this delicious cardamom cake for Christmas or New Year’s and use up that last little bit of eggnog you have leftover.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet, so high altitude bakers can bake with confidence.

Step By Step Decorating Photos. If you like how I decorated my cake, be sure to scroll through today’s post for step by step photos, demonstrating how to pipe the draped buttercream. The design reminds me of draped curtains at the ballet or opera, and I just love how it looks so fancy, but is actually quite easy to do.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Cake

• Flour. You can use either cake flour or all-purpose flour for today’s recipe, to give the cake structure and strength.
• Sugar. A combination of brown sugar and granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
• Baking Powder + Baking Soda. Leavening agents, so the cake rises as it bakes.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Spices. Cardamom, espresso powder (or instant coffee), nutmeg and vanilla extract adds warmth and spice to this cozy cake.
• Milk. I use whole milk for all my baking, which makes the cake tender, moist and flavorful.
• Apple Cider Vinegar. The acidity makes a more tender cake crumb.
• Eggs. Gives the cake structure and moisture.
• Vegetable Oil. Moisture.

Buttercream

• Butter. I use unsalted butter, but you can certainly use salted, and just omit the extra salt in the buttercream.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
• Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
• Nutmeg. Enhances the flavor of the eggnog.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Eggnog. Use a good quality eggnog, one that you enjoy the flavor of for drinking, for the best tasting eggnog buttercream.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, position a rack in the center of the oven, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch round cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
• Add the milk, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla extract, and whisk just until smooth and mostly lump-free.

• Divide the batter between the pans and bake on the middle oven rack for about 22-25 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean and the center of the cake springs back when lightly touched.  Set the cake pans on a wire rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely before frosting.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for one minute until smooth.
• With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt and nutmeg, and mix just to combine.
• Add the eggnog and vanilla, and beat on medium high for about 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally, until very light and fluffy.

How to Pipe Draped Buttercream

• To make this piping design on your cake, first stack and fill the cake layers, then frost all over with a thin crumb coat of the buttercream. Chill the crumb-coated cake in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Frost the top of the cake with a final layer of buttercream.
• Use a bench scraper or the tip of a knife to lightly score the cake with vertical lines around the sides of the cake, to mark where you will start and stop your piping. (10 score marks is ideal.) The markings should be evenly spaced around the cake.

• Fit a piping bag with a large open star tip (Wilton #1M), and fill with buttercream.
• Starting at the bottom of the cake, pipe “swags” or “drapes” of buttercream around the sides of the cake, starting and stopping at your scored lines.

• Complete a horizontal row all the way around the cake, before moving up to the next row. Work your way up the cake until the sides of the cake are covered.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find espresso powder?

I use Medaglia D’Oro Instant Espresso Coffee, which I find at my local grocery store.

What’s the best eggnog to use for the buttercream?

Choose an eggnog that you like to drink, and you’ll like it in your buttercream. My favorite eggnog is the one my local milk delivery (Royal Crest Dairy) sells. It’s rich, creamy, and flavorful, and doesn’t just taste like vanilla flavored milk, which so many brands of eggnog do. For a grocery store brand, I also really like Meadow Gold.

What piping tip did you use for the buttercream?

I used tip 1M.

Will this recipe work if I don’t live at high altitude?

Please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for various altitudes.

What else can I use cardamom in?

Cardamom is a spice that I think is a bit overlooked this time of year, with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and sometimes allspice, taking center stage in our fall and winter baking.  But it’s a really wonderful, warm fragrant spice that is so good in both sweet and savory dishes.  It’s used in curry dishes, Chai tea spices and in Scandinavian breads and pastries.  In fact, one of the countries that uses the most cardamom is Sweden, where they use the spice to season everything from meatloaf to baked goods.  I’ve begun adding cardamom to beef dishes like stews, pot roast, spaghetti and meatballs, and I almost always add it to my almond cakes and cookies.

My mom tells me that my grandpa used to say that having a taste for cardamom is in our blood and not a taste that can be acquired (my family is from Denmark).  I don’t know if that’s true or not – I think many tastes are acquired throughout our whole lives. But I’ve always felt like my Danish heritage explains my love of almond-flavored pastries and cakes.  Here’s an interesting article with a few facts about cardamom.  For reference, I used ground black cardamom in today’s recipe.  I don’t think I even knew there were so many varieties!  I can’t say that I’ve ever seen ground white cardamom, but I’m going to be on the lookout for it now to compare its flavor to what I’ve always used.

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