A three layer gin and tonic cake with G&T drizzle, and G&T frosting with a touch of lime.
Gin and tonic cake
Oh heyyy vaguely sunny summer, perfect time for G&Ts and all that. Honestly, I can’t think of anything better than having a chilled summers evening with an ice cold G&T and some food… but what about gin & tonic cake?! Oh well.. maybe I can have the drink and eat it too. Why would I not?!
My gin and tonic recipes so far have always been a hit since posting as I know a very large percentage of you guys love gin too. Obviously, there are some of you out there that don’t like gin, but there are many other recipes that you can enjoy on my blog instead! But for this one, I just couldn’t resist it… its an absolute showstopper!
Other gin and tonic bakes
My gin & tonic drizzle cake has been far more popular than I have ever imagined it could be, but I wanted to make a layer cake version. So many of you want to make a showstopper version as well, so I thought I would make a recipe out of it to make things easier! It’s very similar to it, and my gin & tonic cupcakes merged together to form a delicious three layer gin and tonic cake.
Design
The basic premise of this recipe is more like my lemon & blueberry cake than anything, but obviously without the fruit. I love the look of this type of cake with the piping in little blobs making a nice pattern and such. Obviously things in the actual recipe are different, but I just couldn’t resist this look! I just find them so damn satisfying!
Icing/frosting
You will notice from the pictures and the recipe that I basically just used two different types of icing or ‘frosting’ for this cake. It may sound really weird, but I am quite a fan. The gin and tonic buttercream is based on the buttercream frosting I used for my gin & tonic cupcakes, but obviously the more liquid you use in a cake, the softer the buttercream will be. Therefore, I still used some in there to get flavouring, but used the ‘water icing’ as well on top for another gin hit.
Most water icings are basically just icing sugar and water mixed together, which is most often used in cupcakes you bake when you’re little, and its just so easy and wonderful. The good thing is, you can swap the water for gin, and then you have a strong gin tasting topper for this cake. This part, is like the topping in my gin & tonic drizzle cake.
Drizzle and flavouring
The drizzle part of this cake, is also the same as my gin & tonic drizzle cake, because its such a hit. When I do flavourings, I really like to go all out.. especially with something I love as much as gin.
However, some people obviously don’t want to go all out on a bottle of gin for a cake, so you CAN use gin and tonic flavouring instead if you want. Sainbury’s currently sell a G&T flavouring, which is the dream. Its the same flavouring I used in my gin & tonic gudge.
If you do just want to use the flavouring, you can use it in the cake, the buttercream, and the water icing if you want. Not only does it make it cheaper, it means you aren’t using actual alcohol, which some people are keen on. It’s a very adaptable flavouring, and its so cheap as well its worth it! I’ve made this cake using just the flavouring, and the actual gin, and both work very well.
Two layer version
If you would rather make a two layer version, use 300g butter, 300g caster sugar, 300g self raising flour, 6 medium eggs, 1.5tsps baking powder, and 1.5 tsps of flavouring if using. Split between two 8″/20cm tins, and it might take an extra 5 minutes to bake in the oven. Use 2/3 of the decorations. Enjoy this Gin and Tonic Cake! x
Gin and Tonic Cake!
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Ingredients
Cake
- 400 g unsalted butter
- 400 g caster sugar
- 400 g self raising flour
- 8 medium eggs
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp G&T flavouring (optional)
- Zest of 1 lime
Drizzle
- 100 g caster sugar
- 6 tbsp gin
- 6 tbsp tonic water
Buttercream
- 300 g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 750 g icing sugar
- 3 tbsp gin
- 3 tbsp tonic
Icing
- 250 g icing sugar
- 3 tbsp gin
Decoration
- Zest of 1 lime
- Lime slices
Instructions
For the Cake
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Heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan and line three 20cm/8inch sandwich cake tins with baking parchment – leave to the side.
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In a stand mixer, beat together the butter and caster sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
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Add in the flour, eggs, baking powder, flavouring if using and lime and beat again briefly until combined – try not to overbeat!
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Divide the mixture between the three tins and smooth it over – bake for 25-30minutes until the cakes are golden and when the cake springs back (skewer should also come out clean)!
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Once baked, leave on the side for now, in the tin.
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Whilst cooling for the 10 minutes, make the drizzle.
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Add your caster sugar, gin, and tonic to a small pan.
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Heat on a low-medium whilst stirring, and wait for the sugar to dissolve. Once dissolved, turn off the heat.
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Poke your cake lightly with a cake skewer/fork, and then drizzle over the drizzle. Leave the cake to cool fully in the tin.
For the Buttercream
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Beat the butter with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes to loosen it – gradually beat in the icing sugar until well combined (this can take up to 5 minutes).
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Add in the tonic & gin one tablespoon of each at a time, and beat fully each time. The mixture will be slightly slacker than usual, but you want the flavour so be aware!
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Alternatively, use the gin & tonic flavouring with the butter and sugar instead.
To Decorate
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Add a layer of the cake to your plate/board and pipe on some of the buttercream.
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Add on the second layer and pipe on buttercream again, and then the third layer. If you just want to use buttercream then decorate the top, but I did buttercream and icing so I piped the leftover buttercream around the edges.
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Mix the icing with the gin and fill in the top with it, and then sprinkle over the lime zest and add lime slices if you wish!
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Enjoy!
Notes
- I found my gin & tonic flavouring from SAINSBURYS. You can use it in place of any actual gin if you like!
- The icing part on top is completely optional, you can just use buttercream, but it gives a nice strong gin flavour.
- YOU MUST USE ACTUAL BUTTER FOR BUTTERCREAM – I can’t stress this enough. I get comments often about ‘why is my buttercream so runny’ and 9/10 times its because the incorrect butter was used. You can’t use stork, or a spread, or a substitute for buttercream. This is even more important for this recipe as you are adding more liquid than usual.
- I used Gordons gin for these cupcakes, and Fever Tree tonic as it has a strong flavour. You can use any you like, but better quality ones with a better and stronger flavour are important.
- You can use anything to decorate it with, but I love a wedge or two of lime with my G&Ts so used lime slices!
- These cake will last in a container for 3 days at room temperature!
Find my other recipes on my Recipes Page!
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J x
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