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Eggnog Cupcakes

eggnog cupcakes

‘Tis the season for eggnog, that nutmeg-spiced, custardy, boozy beverage that is so popular around the holidays. It tastes delicious and is oh-so-rich. The richness, unfortunately, keeps me and most of my friends from drinking more than a very small serving at a time. To further enjoy that eggnog flavor, I decided to turn the drink into a batch of holiday cupcakes.

My first impulse was to do a regular cupcake recipe, substituting eggnog for milk and adding in nutmeg to punch up the flavor, but in the nick of time, I remembered the great success I had with the Margarita Cupcake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the Worldearlier this year and decided to adapt it into eggnog cupcakes. The thing that further influenced my decison was that last year I did a taste testof soy eggnog (a.k.a. “snog”) vs regular eggnog and found that I quite liked the soy versions. The eggnog flavor covers up some the mild flavor commonly associated with soymilk and the drink still has a nice, creamy consistency. My two recommended brands would be Vitasoy Holly Nog and Silk Soy Nog.

The cupcakes turned out beautifully. They were incredbly moist and tender – and because of it, they did the drink justice very nicely. My preference is for rum in eggnog instead of bourbon, so I used quite a bit of rum in both the cakes and the frosting. The rum paired nicely with the nutmeg and the combination of cake, frosting, rum and eggnog was incredibly flavorful.

I want to note that I served these at a party and no one suspected that they might be vegan cupcakes; everyone simply raved about how tasty and eggnoggy they were. I used butter in my frosting (not vegan, obviously), but if you want a vegan version, use a vegan shortening or similar product in its place. If you don’t want to buy the soy nog, or can’t find it in a store near you, this recipe will work with “real” eggnog as well. I recommend opting for a low fat version because it will have a similar consistency to the soy nogs, and while the flavor of the finished cupcake might be slightly different (and not vegan, of course), it will still be delicious.


Eggnog Cupcakes
1/4 cup dark rum or bourbon
1 cup soy eggnog
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
scant 1/4 tsp nutmeg, freshly ground
1 cup sugar
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Fill a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
In a small bowl, mix together rum, eggnog, vegetable oil, vinegar and vanilla.
In a large bowl, mix together nutmeg, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Pour in rum mixture and whisk until just combined. Divide evenly into muffin tins (a 1/4 cup measure is a good tool for this).
Bake for 18-20 minutes, until a tester comes out clean and the cakes spring back when lightly pressed.
Cool in the pan for 3-5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Eggnog Frosting
1/4 cup butter or nonhydrogenated shortening, softened
3 tbsp soy eggnog (or regular)
2 tbsp rum
generous pinch of nutmeg, freshly ground
2+ cups confectioners’ sugar
coarse sugar for “rims”

Cream together butter/nonhydrogenated shortening (depending on whether you want the frosting vegan or not), eggnog, rum, nutmeg and 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar. Add in more sugar if needed to make frosting stiff, but spreadable.
Spread on cupcakes and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon.

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37 Comments
  • Stefani
    December 17, 2007

    Those look great! I wasn’t so thrilled with the cake part of my eggnog latte cupcakes. I may have to try this cake next time.

  • meeso
    December 17, 2007

    Wow, sounds amazing!

  • Nicole
    December 17, 2007

    Sophia – If you don’t want to use rum, you can substitute an equivalent amount of eggnog. But I would recommend adding a bit of rum extract as well to get the full effect.

  • Brina
    December 20, 2007

    I made these for our Gift Exchange today – they’re absolutely wonderful. Best cupcakes I’ve ever made. No one believed it was vegan!

  • sunshinemom
    July 12, 2008

    Nicole, is it alright to use balsamic vinegar instead of apple cider vinegar?

  • Nicole
    July 12, 2008

    Sunshine Mom – Balsamic will work, however I would not recommend it. It has a strong flavor and a deep color – neither of which will really go that well in a white, eggnog cupcake. I would use white vinegar, if you have it. The mildest, clearest vinegar is the best choice here.

  • marianne
    December 18, 2008

    I had high hopes for these cupcakes since I love eggnong…but, sadly I was dissapointed in the cake part. Not sure if it was the bourbon I used, Jim Beam, or what…but they were sort of gummy and a bit too strong. The frosting tasted nice though and I ommitted the alcohol…so the eggnog flavor really stood out.

  • Isobel - Happy Doctor
    January 9, 2009

    they look delicious.. but i’m afraid that i won’t create a form like this on ur pic..

  • asian recipes
    February 20, 2009

    These cupcakes look so delicious from the photo. I am just tryng to get the other orange cupcake done in this site, and this will be the next!

  • Mia
    December 12, 2009

    Just made these twice…totally gummy both times, I now have 24 cupcakes and frosting in the trash! Followed everything exactly, used bourbon, not rum. The batter from the start was gummy looking and didn’t seem right. Don’t know what I did wrong but these didn’t turn out for me at all.

  • Sarah
    December 15, 2009

    Vegan cupcakes are always gummy when they get out of the oven. You are supposed to wait until they have cooled down to eat. The gumminess disappears.

  • Personalized dog tags
    April 13, 2010

    It should include a link to your site and that gets you more traffic. Then post it to your blog

  • These cupcakes look delicious. can’t wait to taste them.

  • Linda
    August 4, 2010

    These cupcakes were such a huge hit last Christmas, that I am in the process of making several dozen of them for a friend’s wedding. She just had to have them! It is 90 degrees and 90% humidity here in Massachusetts, and I am sweating over my stove making the doggone egg nog from scratch because egg nog is, of course, unavailable here in August. So thanks very much 😉

    Awesome recipe.

  • Lucy @ Gifts for Grandparents
    November 16, 2010

    Me and my daughter have spent the day testing out a number of recipies and i have to admit these cakes are a real hit, the only down side is that i’m going to have to put extra work in at the gym next week to work them off, fully worth it though! thankyou.

  • Longtimecoming
    December 8, 2010

    I made these cupcakes for my co-workers and they were a huge hit!!! everyone thought they were incredibly moist and delish — my only issue was with making the frosting… i couldn’t get mine as stiff as yours appears in the photo, it was more of an icing but people loved them none-the-less!

    Thank you for posting such great recipes!

  • Beth
    December 5, 2011

    Hi! I know this is an older recipe, so no worries if you don’t get this, but I’m thinking of making these for a party and had a quick question. If the eggnog I have already has rum mixed in, should I add the extra rum or just an equivalent volume of eggnog? Grad students certainly enjoy a bit of alcohol at the end of the quarter, but I don’t want to overdo it. . .

    I love your website, by the way! It’s totally expanded my baking horizons.

  • Nicole
    December 5, 2011

    Beth – Thanks for the kind words! I guess my answer would depend on how strong your eggnog is. If it is very strong, I would simply use 1 1/4 cups eggnog in the recipe. If it isn’t too strong, I might just cut back on the rum by about 2 tbsp and replace that with more eggnog.

    Good luck!

  • Beth
    December 12, 2011

    Thanks for the advice! The cupcakes were a big hit! And just as a public service announcement, Pennsylvania Dutch brand eggnog is very boozy (around 14% ABV). I took a sip before I started baking, and it was so strong I don’t think I could drink it straight. It worked great as a flavoring in the cupcakes and frosting, though; I just substituted equivalent volumes of eggnog for the rum.

  • Fae
    December 6, 2012

    Like what Beth said I know this is an older recipe so I don’t know if you’ll get this, but I would like to make this recipe for my xmas party at work. There are minors there and was wondering if I could just use the artifical rum flavor and if so how much? I know that the alcohol cooks out, but I rather just be safe than in jail. 🙂

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