It just isn’t the holiday season without some freshly baked ginger bread or a glass of eggnog. I absolutely love the rich creamy taste and silky texture of eggnog. Admittedly I get really excited when I discover the cartons of eggnog in the dairy aisle at Sobeys each year. So in this recipe I decided to take my love of eggnog to the next level by using it to create a sinfully delicious eggnog crème anglaise or custard sauce.

Although I could eat spoonfuls of the eggnog custard all on its own, I decided to bake some gingerbread. However ginger bread cookies wouldn’t do this custard justice so I adapted a recipe I had seen in my recent copy of Fine Cooking and baked a Ginger Bread cake flavoured with root beer. This cake was everything I had hoped it would be; dark, moist and spicy. As soon as it came out of the oven I knew it would be magical with the eggnog custard I had made earlier, and I was right!

To heighten the pleasure even more, serve the cake warm and the custard slightly chilled, the contrast in temperature will help accentuate the flavours of both the cake and the custard.

Ginger Bread Cake with Eggnog Custard Sauce
Serves 12
Prep time: 25 minutes (20 mins for the cake, 5 mins for the sauce)
Total time: 80 minutes plus cooling (60 mins plus cooling for the cake, 20 mins plus cooling for the sauce)

For the Cake
1 tbsp (15 mL) softened unsalted butter
2 tbsp (30 mL) sugar
1 cup (250 mL) vegetable oil
¼ cup (63 mL) molasses
3 large eggs
2 cups (500 mL) Compliments All Purpose Flour [1]
2 tsp (10 mL) baking soda
1 tsp (5 mL) ground ginger
1 tsp (5 mL) ground cinnamon
½ tsp (3 mL) ground cardamom
½ tsp (3 mL) salt
1 ¾ cups (438 mL) dark brown sugar
1 cup (250 mL) root beer

For the Sauce
2 cups (500 mL) eggnog
½ fresh vanilla bean, split lengthwise
5 egg yolks
½ cup (125 mL) sugar
1 tbsp (15 mL) vanilla cognac, brandy or spiced rum

For the Cake

1. Pre-heat your oven at 350°F (177°C) with a rack in the middle. Grease a 13 inch (33cm) by 9 inch (23 cm) cake pan with the softened butter and dust the inside with the sugar.
2. In a bowl stir together the; oil, molasses and eggs, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom and salt.
3. In a small pot bring the brown sugar and root beer to a simmer to dissolve the sugar. Add the molasses mixture to the flour and mix to combine. Carefully add the hot root beer mixture and quickly beat until combined, scraping down the bowl during mixing.
4. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake until a tooth pick comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool in the pan on a rack until warm. Invert the pan to remove the cake and turn the cake right side up again. Slice and serve topped with the Eggnog Custard Sauce and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

For the Sauce

5. In a heavy sauce pan combine the eggnog and the vanilla bean, bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat.
6. In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks and sugar until smooth. Whisk in a touch of the hot eggnog and then whisk the entire mixture into the remaining hot eggnog.
7. Stir constantly over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, approx 8 minutes. Strain into a clean bowl and stir in the brandy. Cool quickly in an ice bath, stirring occasionally, place a layer of plastic directly on the surface of the custard and refrigerate until needed and up to two days. Serve warm or cold with the Ginger Bread Cake.

Happy Holiday Cooking!
Chef Ryan Skelton