I’m pretty sure that no-one else has a much better idea of what day it is than we do, other than that it’s approximately Easter and probably still 2020! While we’re all busy staying at home and washing our hands, we’ve found some time to bake. “What’s this got to do with Beerblefish?” I hear you cry. Well, we’ve been baking with gin. Our award-winning Limited Edition Hopped Gin, to be precise.
Usually, we would strongly suggest drinking gin (in moderation) rather than baking with it, but these are different times, and different times call for a different approach. We’ve heard about many gin and tonic cakes over the last couple of years, some more successful than others, so we wanted to see if we could create something to suit the slightly citrusy flavour of our Hopped Gin.
Most of the G&T cakes we’ve had in the past tried to incorporate the gin and/or tonic into the cake itself (often meaning you can’t taste them) or put them into a rich buttercream, which can be a little overwhelming. We wanted to try to preserve the delicate flavours and some of the heat of the gin, so we got down to some serious research and came up with Hopped Gin and Tonic Drizzle Cake.
Here’s the recipe for you to try at home. However, please shop responsibly and don’t stress yourselves out trying to find ingredients that might be a little scarce in some places right now – the recipe will still be here when this is all over!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 200g plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 100g butter
- 100g light brown sugar
- 1 egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp milk
- Zest of 1 lime
For the drizzle:
- 75g granulated sugar
- 5 tbsp Beerblefish Limited Edition Hopped Gin
- 5 tbsp tonic water
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180℃/170℃ fan/gas mark 4.
2. Line a loaf tin with greaseproof paper (all the easier if you have a loaf tin liner).
3. Put the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl and rub in the butter (or use an electric mixer).
4. Add the light brown sugar and mix.
5. Mix in the beaten egg and add milk until the batter is smooth and will drop from a spoon.
6. Stir in the lime zest.
7. Put the cake in the oven and bake for 1 to 1¼ hours, until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
8. While you allow the cake to cool a little, mix the Hopped Gin, tonic water and granulated sugar together in a small bowl.
9. Use a skewer to prick holes in the cake to about half the cake’s depth and pour the drizzle over the top of the cake – the liquid should run into the holes, leaving the sugar to form a crust on top. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
10. If you feel like it, decorate the cake with some lime slices.
11. Serve with a Hopped Gin and tonic!
We hope you enjoy your gin and tonic cake and we wish you all a very Happy Easter!
