"GIN FIZZ" CAKE

Gin and tonic, G&T, whatever you want to call it is a Great British summertime tipple. Me personally, I tend to stay well clear of the stuff for fear of the dreaded "Gin Tears". However one way to enjoy your gin without worrying about crying into your glass by the end of he night is to whip up my "Gin Fizz" loaf cake. Packed with zingy fresh lime juice and zest flavors and with a laced with shots of your favorite Gin and fizzy drink, this is defiantly one just for the grown ups! As the old saying goes; "Lets get busy with the fizzy!"

So let's start with the important stuff, the Gin! As with any of my recipes concerning booze the same mantra applies to what type of Gin you use. Only use a variety that you would be happy to drink on its own (I used Greenalls). Anything you think is nasty is just going to add that same flavor to your cake and therefore render your cake equally nasty as well. I was taught that gin and tonic should always be served with lime, something to do with how it used to be served back in the day to our guys in India to prevent disease so I'm told. I like the more punchy citrus flavor of lime in the cake too but you can also swap them out for lemons if you prefer.

What gives this cake it's fizzy moistness and punch of zing is the addition of a hot sugar syrup poured over the top when it's removed from the oven. This is where the "tonic" comes in. You can use tonic water, lemonade or maybe even bitter lemon to get that fizz into your cake. Really you can use anything that you would drink in a normal gin cocktail. I used a shot of Bunderbergs lemon, lime and bitters which was absolutely spot on. Not that easy to get your hands on round my parts but if you do spy a bottle then make sure you pick up a few for your gin fizz cake. You can find your nearest stockist on their website here so if somewhere is close, go and take a trip and treat yourself!

Simple and quick to make, here is the recipe. Give this a go next time you have a couple of the girls round for cocktails and nibbles!

Gin Fizz Cake

225g Softened Butter

375g Golden Caster Sugar

4 Whole Medium Eggs

225g Self Raising Flour

4 Limes

150ml Gin

25ml Fizzy Drink Of Choice 

1. Start by lining a medium sized loaf tin with grease proof paper and get your oven on to 180 degrees (160 fan).
2. Beat together the butter with 225g of the sugar until light and fluffy before adding in the whole eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until well combined.
3. Add in the flour and fold through until you see no streaks of flour before adding in the zest of all the limes and the juice of two along with 100ml of your gin. Mix again until wellcombined.
4. Add the batter to your tin, level and then bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown, well risen and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
5. When the cake is nearly done, mix together the remaining sugar, gin and juice of the other two limes along with the 25ml of fizzy drink until the sugar dissolves into a syrup.
6. Remove the cake from the oven and transfer quickly to a wire rack. Prick the top of the cake in several place with a fork or skewer and then brush over the gin fizz syrup. This will take a few minutes but take your time and the cake will eventually absorb all the syrup. 

Leave the cake to fully cool before serving as the sponge will be very fragile when warm and with just adding the syrup. Once the cake is cool then cut yourself a big slab and serve alongside a big cup of tea. The moistness of the cake will be evident before you even take a bit but once you do, that zing from the gin and limes will dance across your taste buds with delight.

No more gin tears with this cake. Well, maybe tears of joy at how amazballs it is!