Eggnog Teacakes — The Cake That Made Me Cry First, Bake Second

December is here and the daycare has been fully transformed. There is tinsel on every surface, a tree in the corner decorated by the kids in clusters. All the ornaments are between two and four feet high, so the bottom third of the tree is very festive and the top two-thirds are bare. It looks like the tree put on a skirt and forgot the rest of the outfit. I love it enormously.

I have been practicing the Yule log cake. First attempt Sunday: the sponge cracked when I rolled it. I think I overbaked it slightly. Too dry, not enough flex. I was disappointed for ten minutes and then I ate the broken pieces with chocolate ganache poured directly over them, which turned out to be an excellent decision.

Gloria said when I called her about it: the cake did not work, did it taste good? I said yes. She said then try again. That is the whole philosophy right there.

Second attempt Saturday: I pulled the sponge out two minutes earlier, rolled it immediately, let it cool in that shape so it remembered. Filled it with sweetened whipped cream mixed with espresso powder. The ganache went on thick and I dragged a fork through lengthwise for bark texture. Then powdered sugar for snow, a sprig of rosemary for a pine branch, a few cranberries.

It looked like something from a magazine, which has never happened to me before. I took a photo and stared at it before cutting into it. The inside was a clean spiral. I cried a little, which I am aware is a dramatic response to a dessert. But it took two attempts and one failure and sometimes you just need to cry at your own cake at ten-thirty on a Saturday night.

Once the Yule log was done and the powdered sugar had settled and I had dried my eyes and eaten two slices, I found myself still wanting to be in the kitchen — not to prove anything this time, just to keep that feeling going a little longer. These eggnog teacakes are what I made the next morning: small, quiet, forgiving little things that smell like the whole season. After a week of rolling and ganaching and holding my breath, it was exactly right to make something that simply asked to be mixed and baked and dusted with snow.

Eggnog Teacakes

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 35 min | Servings: 24 teacakes

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup store-bought or homemade eggnog
• Powdered sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 24-cup mini muffin tin well, or line with small paper liners.
2. Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar together with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add eggs and vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until combined.
5. Alternate wet and dry. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and eggnog in three alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix just until no dry streaks remain — do not overmix.
6. Fill the tin. Spoon the batter into the prepared mini muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.
7. Bake. Bake for 17–20 minutes, until the tops are just set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The edges should be barely golden.
8. Cool and finish. Let teacakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, dust generously with powdered sugar just before serving.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 118 | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Carbs: 17g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 62mg