A Use for Leftover Eggnog.

Before Christmas, I decided to try something different.  After running through cupcake and frosting ideas in my head, I came up with a combination that sounded good: spice cake and eggnog.  After various attempts to find a decent eggnog buttercream recipe, I just took a normal buttercream and used eggnog in it.  It might already be the New Year, but if you're anything like me, you still have leftovers from the holidays. And some of those leftovers might be eggnog (the cooked or store-bought kind; hopefully you've thrown out any of the non-cooked kind by now!).  Here is the recipe for the cake.  The recipe for the buttercream is fairly standard, although I doubled a normal single recipe and didn't add any vanilla, salt or spices because of the eggnog and instead added a tablespoon of rum (it was on hand... I imagine brandy or bourbon would taste good as well):

1 cup butter
6-8 cups powdered sugar
1 tbsp rum
~3/4 cup eggnog

There was one thing I changed about the recipes, one change I would make in the future, and a recipe "choice" I made, so I'll start with those:
1) After reading several reviews, I doubled the spices in the cake recipe.  I'm glad that I did, because it had just enough spice to it without being overpowering.
2) Next time, I think I'd try to use a French buttercream rather than a regular one. This took a LOT of powdered sugar to thicken it.  It was still definitely eggnog-flavored, and it was good, but it was also extremely rich and difficult to work with.
3) I used store-bought eggnog for the frosting.  I made a list of the best-rated brands and the grocery store of course had none of them, so I bought the only one that specified pasteurized eggs on the carton. I was a bit concerned that the others didn't. It happened to be a low-fat one.  Even though I would rather have tried a full-fat version for more flavor with less eggnog, I'd rather compromise on that.

On to the cake...

First I sifted together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt into a bowl.  Then I separated the eggs and whipped the egg whites to stiff peaks.  I then put the egg whites into another bowl and washed out the mixing bowl... I'm never sure why some professional cooks assume that everyone has two bowls for their mixer.  I suppose I could have whipped the egg whites by hand, but I didn't.  If you have the patience for that, I salute you.

Then I creamed together the butter and brown sugar.  I added the vegetable oil slowly while the mixer was still running.

I added the egg yolks one at a time, beating after each, then alternated beating in the buttermilk and the flour mixture.

Once all buttermilk and dry ingredients had been added, I took the bowl off the mixer and folded in the egg whites.

Then I divided the batter into lined muffin tins (a little more than 1/2 full) and baked at 350 for about 20 minutes, until the tops were springy and a fork came out clean.  

Then I went on to the frosting, first creaming the butter, then slowly alternating adding the powdered sugar (I had to use almost a full 8 cups) and the eggnog, adding the rum after about half of each had been added, and beating each time until fluffy and thick.

The frosting does harden when exposed to air, and I should have let it do so longer, because it was difficult to pipe, and I don't think it would have been if it had been allowed to solidify a few minutes more.  However, the cupcakes came out well.  I sprinkled the tops with nutmeg, and then they were ready to eat:

DEEMS THIS RECIPE:

... Easier than pie, if you get the frosting thick enough.