Spiced Eggnog Trifle

Starting with a homemade eggnog-infused, holiday rum cake, this Spiced Eggnog Trifle is layered with an eggnog cream cheese rum filling and candied mixed nuts. Drizzled with a thick, sweet caramel sauce, this trifle is sure to be a hit! Optionally, this recipe easily converts to a rum-free version too!

I cannot let a Christmas season go by without preparing at least one eggnog-flavoured treat. This year, it’s this Spiced Eggnog Trifle, but in previous years, it has been this Eggnog Bundt Cake, my Holiday Eggnog Biscotti, and my Christmas Eggnog Cookies. Every one of those desserts is loaded with eggnog flavour, which to me, is nutmeg and cinnamon. To be honest, I could do without the rest and not miss it!

Not everyone is a fan of drinking eggnog – me included – but, when it comes to baking with it, I’m in! And, I happen to think that this trifle is delicious! I’ve tried eggnog many times, and I love the flavour of it. I just find that the texture is a little too thick for my liking. But, put that stuff in a cookie or a cake, and I’m all over it!

I’m going to tell you all about this recipe and how you can make it in your home this holiday season. But first, I want to tell you about what you can expect from Lord Byron’s Kitchen this Christmas. Over the past seven Christmases, I have built a reputation for sharing series-type recipes. The most popular would be my annual 24 Cookies of Christmas, which was fashioned after an advent calendar. But, I have others that are only 12 days, which were fashioned after the 12 Days of Christmas.

Before we get to a list of ingredients and instructions for today’s recipe, let me tell you about this series and more! Welcome, Dear Reader, to my first Christmas series this holiday season! I’m calling this series Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifles.

Just like every other series that I’ve shared over the years, this one will also see a new recipe shared each day for the next 12 days – even on Saturday and Sunday! You might be asking yourself, how many Christmas recipes could one possibly have or need? Well, I say you can never have too much of a good thing. And, I love having lots of choices. Who wants to prepare the same holiday recipes year after year?

SUBSCRIBE NOW SO THAT YOU NEVER MISS OUT ON NEW RECIPES!

So, welcome, Dear Reader, to Lord Byron’s 12 Holiday Trifles Series! Even though this is the first series for this holiday season, you can always look back at previous years if you just cannot wait until the next recipe is published. Also, some of my favourite recipe collections from previous years are my 75 Homemade Gifts from Your Kitchen, my 50 Make Ahead Freezer Friendly Christmas Recipes, and my 30 No-Bake Christmas Recipes post.

You really don’t want to miss one of these recipes, so if you have not yet subscribed to Lord Byron’s Kitchen, I encourage you to do so. That way, a new recipe will be emailed to you every day. You won’t have to bother to come looking for it! Like in previous holiday recipe countdowns, I like to mix up the recipes in the series so that there is something for everyone. Are you ready!!??

LAYERED DESSERTS ARE THE EASIEST AND THE BEST!

Layered desserts have been popular for many, many years. For those of us who were not blessed with the ability to decorate elaborate cakes or whip up a choux pastry or even master the art of a good meringue, there are layered desserts. Think about it! The popularity of desserts like no-bake cheesecakes, trifles, tiramisus, etc., is proof.

I like to think that a layered dessert can certainly be just as elegant if prepared the right way. Make it simple. Overcomplicated desserts are no fun to prepare or eat. Choose two or three flavour combinations, because too many will just become muddled and the flavours will compete with each other. That’s what I think of trifles. I do love them, but I don’t care for them if they too many ingredients and too many layers. I’ll do my best to keep the trifles in this series uncomplicated.

If you are looking for more layered desserts, look no further! I’ve got you covered right here. Try these Stacked Vanilla Strawberry Shortcakes, for example. Or a breakfast version using waffles! Speaking of strawberry shortcakes, you have got to try these puff pastry flakies – they are probably my favourite dessert of all time.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this Spiced Eggnog Trifle recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.

For the Spiced Cake:

• Butter – Make sure your butter is at room temperature.
• Brown Sugar and Granulated Sugar – Yes, you will need both!
• Eggs – These, like the butter, should be at room temperature too.
• Rum – You can substitute the rum with vanilla extract.
• Eggnog 
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Powder and Baking Soda  
• Salt
• Ground Nutmeg and Ground Cinnamon

For the Cream Cheese Rum Filling:

• Cream Cheese – Use brick style rather than whipped or cream cheese in a tub.  The brick style is firmer and more condensed. 
• Butter
• Confectioner’s Sugar
• Rum – Again, you can substitute this with vanilla extract.
• Eggnog

For the Assembly:

• Nuts – You can use any nuts you like here. I’m using mixed candied nuts.
• Caramel Dessert Topping

HOW TO MAKE A SPICED EGGNOG TRIFLE

To make the cake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9×13 baking pan by coating the inside well with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in the rum and eggnog until just mixed through. Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground nutmeg and ground cinnamon. Beat until just incorporated. Do not over-mix the batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth out the top. Tap the pan firmly a few times onto a cutting board and place it in the oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Turn out onto a wire cooling rack to finish cooling. Once fully cooled, cut the cake into one-inch cubes.

For the filling, in a bowl, beat together the butter and the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the confectioner’s sugar one cup at a time, fully incorporating it into the butter mixture after each addition. Next, add the eggnog and rum. Beat until combined. Set aside.

To assemble, place a layer of the eggnog cake cubes into a trifle bowl. Top with 1/3rd of the candied mixed nuts and half of the cream cheese rum filling. Drizzle in the caramel sauce. Repeat with another layer of cake, candied mixed nuts, and cream cheese. Garnish with the remaining candied nuts. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours before serving.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN PREPARING TRIFLES

First of all, there are no steadfast rules about how many layers you should or shouldn’t have. My rule of thumb is this – make the trifle big enough to feed your family and/or guests, and use a bowl that is big enough to accommodate the layers. If you have a larger trifle bowl, you can simply add another layer or add more berries or cake to fill it up. Likewise, if your bowl is too small, you can make mini trifles with the leftover ingredients in stemmed dessert bowls.

Trifles cannot be prepared days in advance, nor can they be frozen. Since most trifle recipes are assembly-type recipes, the best thing to do is to prepare them on the day you plan to eat them. However, with that said, every trifle in this series can be prepared a day in advance. If you prepare the trifle a day in advance, it’s a good idea to set the garnish aside and place it onto the trifle just before serving. That way, your trifle will look like it was just freshly prepared.

QUESTIONS?

If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down to follow me and never miss another recipe!