Gin Cake

Yes, gin cake. No tonic. Just gin.

I've been wanting to try out a recipe for a gin & tonic cake for a while but due to my mixing and matching of certain recipes, the tonic has been ommitted from this particular version! I've added a note at the bottom of this post to show how you can adapt it.

Do not be put off by the amount of gin that goes into this cake. It sounds (and looks) a lot for a small cake but, with a bit of persistance, it will mix in and most of the pungent gin flavour will cook off. This may not be in keeping with my aim to do "healthy recipes" but I can't resist anything gin based, especially with the season of alfresco drinking and BBQs approaching. With the bitterness of the lemon and the floral notes of the gin, this makes for a surprisngly refreshing cake. Be warned - only a small slice is needed. But what better way to finish a gin drinking session than by eating gin too?

The quantities of butter, sugar and flour will vary depending on how heavy your eggs are! Weigh yours eggs together, in their shells, and then use that same amount of butter, sugar and flour.






You Will Need: 
-4 eggs, weighed in their shells
-butter
-caster sugar
-self-raising flour
-2 lemons
-4-5 shots of gin

For the icing:
-500g icing sugar
-250g butter
-2-3 shots of gin












First off, preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a 1kg loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (this can be done by hand although a food processor is a more pain-free process!)

Crack in the eggs and beat until combined. Sieve in the flour whilst mixing then grate in the zest of both lemons. Stir through the juice of one lemon and add 4-5 shots of gin. Pour into a 1kg loaf tin and bake for 45 minutes. I'd suggest checking it at 30 minutes and covering with foil if it is browning too much. 







Once the cake is cooked, transfer it to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. Meanwhile, you can make the butter icing by simply mixing together the butter, icing sugar and 2-3 shots of gin(depending how strong you want it!). Once cool, spread the icing over the cake and it's ready to serve.

NB: if the butter icing is something you want to avoid, you can make a drizzle instead which includes tonic. Simply combine 150g granulated sugar, 4-5 shots gin, a dash of tonic and the juice of one lemon. Prick the surface of the cake and the drizzle it over!

Nic

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Gluten-Free Lemon Drizzle Cake

I love baking. Whether it's making a summery cake for a sunny day or simply something to do when stuck inside the house, there's something strangely therapeutic about it. I generally prefer the process of baking the actual cake than eating the finished result! This is probably because, as much as I like to bake, I'm the first to admit that my attempts often fall flat. Don't ask me why (although I personally blame the oven). 

Regardless, this recipe is one to give a go purely to see what the magical addition of mashed potato does to it. Yes, you read correctly, mashed potato. No, I'm not having a "Rachel from Friends" moment as my housemate thought when he assumed I must have got my pages muddled up (he was the first one to eat his own words...and pretty much the entire cake for that matter). 

As the name suggests, this cake contains no gluten, and therefore, no flour. The starch from the mashed potato basically adds to the cake structurally in a way which flour normally would. The added bonus is that, due to the natural water content obviously gained from using potato, the resulting cake is incredibly moist and fluffy. So, here's how it's done:





You will need:
-300g unsalted butter
-300g golden caster sugar
-6 eggs
-265g ground almonds
-375g mashed potato
-zest 5 lemons
-4 tsp gluten-free baking powder
-6 tbsp granulated sugar
-juice 2 lemons








Before you begin, make the mashed potato in the usual way and allow to cool significantly. It doesn't matter if the potato is still a little bit warm if you're short on time but, ideally, have them chilled.
Preheat the oven to 180C/160 fan/gas 6. Butter and line a deep, 20cm round cake tin. Beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, then gradually add the egg, mixing well after each addition. Fold in the almonds, cold mashed potato, lemon zest and baking powder.








Tip the mixture into your prepared tin,level the top, and bake for 50 minutes. The top should be golden and a skewer should come out clean after being inserted into the cake. If in doubt, bake for longer, checking every few minutes. 









For the drizzle, mix the lemon juice and sugar together and spoon over the the top of the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing. Getting overexcited and slicing it when still warm will result in a sloppy mess on the plate! 

Although the butter and sugar content in this recipe seem like a lot, this cake will serve 12 people easily so don't feel too guilty! 

Nic

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