Moist and light, gin and tonic laced cake, and a zingy, creamy, gin infused icing to lavishly top this decadent treat off…delicious!

My gin-loving friend has a birthday this weekend, so we are off out tonight for cocktails and sushi. Can’t wait for a relaxed night with lovely friends and great food, washed down with a pretty cocktail or two. To surprise her I have made these scrumptious Gin & Tonic Cupcakes, but I’m sure she’ll be drinking a few G&Ts too!

Gin Cupcake serve 6

Not having a sweet tooth, I wouldn’t be the first person to reach for a cupcake, but as well as sweetness, these have a savoury, fresh taste, which is quite delicious. I’m also a big lover of all things citrusy, so the added lime juice, adds a very welcome zing. The gin is quite a subtle taste, but you could always add more if you feel that way inclined!

This recipe makes 12 cupcakes in total. I made 6 with gin and 6 without. I still added the tonic to these, but omitted the alcohol so that my kids could have one too. Can you imagine making cupcakes and the kids not being able to eat them! That would be bordering on child cruelty surely…

As I was making these today, I was thinking how great they would be to serve with drinks at a party. Maybe using mini muffin cases, which would obviously double the number of cakes you made to 24. Perfect for holding in one hand with a nice fresh gin and tonic in the other. I may have to give that a go in the summer!

So hope these go down well tonight. I obviously had to taste test, just to make sure they tasted okay…gorgeous!

Enjoy!

Gin & Tonic Cupcakes

 Ingredients

  • 175g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
  • 175g Golden Caster Sugar
  • 175g Self Raising Flour
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 4 Tbsp. Tonic Water
  • 2 Tbsp. Gin

Gin Cupcake Ingredients

Icing

  • 250g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
  • 500g Icing Sugar
  • Juice of 1 Lime
  • 2 Tbsp.Gin

Gin Cupcake icing ingredients

Method

 Preheat oven to 170°C Fan, and line a muffin tin with 12 cases.

Beat together the butter and sugar – take you time with this, you are looking for a really pale, creamy consistency. Patience is not one of my strong points, but getting this part right, makes such a difference to your cakes. Allow at least 10 mins to get there. I know it seems a long time, but it’s totally worth it.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Fold in the flour, taking care not to over mix.

Finally, stir through the tonic water.

Divide the mixture equally between the 12 muffin cases, and bake for approx. 20 minutes, until golden brown.

Once cooked, place onto a wire cooling rack. Pierce each cake 3-4 times with a wooden skewer, and brush generously with the gin. Leave to cool.

Gin Cupcake cooked tray

Meanwhile, to make the icing, beat together the butter and icing sugar. Again, take your time until light and fluffy, and nice and pale in colour.

Add in the lime juice and the gin, and stir to combine.

Gin Cupcake lime juice

Ice your cakes using a piping bag (if you have one), and then decorate with lime zest and a half slice of lime if desired.

Gin Cupcake serve above shot

 

Fiona Lyne

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