Lemon Drizzle cake
is a serious contender for on e of the tastiest cakes, ever. There are
several variations on the theme (Lime or Clementine Drizzle being two of
the most popular). However, try this Gin and Tonic Drizzle version,
which is obviously, an adults only cake.
This recipe is based on
my favourite Lemon Drizzle, which I learned long ago in school but with a
slight updating. The change here for me is the use of both flour and
ground almonds, should you prefer a nut-free cake then use 175g self
raising flour and leave out the ground almonds.
The cake is made with the all-in-one method in a mixer and if you don't have one, then you can do it just as well by hand.
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Ingredients
- For the Cake:
- 115g / 4 oz self raising flour / self rising flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 75 g / 3 oz ground almonds
- 175g / 6 oz soft unsalted butter
- 175g / 6oz caster sugar / superfine sugar
- 5 large limes, zested (keep the juice for the syrup)
- 2 large, free range eggs
- 25ml good, quality gin
- 25ml tonic water
- For the Syrup:
- 100 ml lime juice from limes above
- 15ml good, quality gin
- 15 ml tonic water
- 115g / 4 oz sugar (see note below)
Preparation
Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C.
Lightly grease and line a loaf
tin measuring 23 x 13 x 7 cm (9 x 5 1/2 x 3 inches) also known as a
900ml / 2 lb tin with greaseproof paper. Put to one side.
Sieve
the flour and baking powder into the bowl of a food processor or stand
mixer. Add all the remaining cake ingredients and mix on a high speed to
create a light, airy and smooth cake batter.
Pour the batter into your prepared tin.
Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 45 - 50 minutes or until, when pierced with a skewer it comes out clean and dry.
Remove the cake from the oven, and leave it to stand on a cooling rack (do nor remove the cake from the tin).
Place
the limes juice, the gin, tonic and sugar into a saucepan, heat gently
and stir until all the sugar dissolves. Do not boil.
Using a
skewer, prick the cake all over and then lowly spoon over the syrup a
little at a time. Always allow the syrup to soak in before adding any
more.
Leave the cake to go completely cold in the tin. Once it is,
you can remove it from the tin, and eat (delicious) or wrap it in a
fresh sheet of greaseproof and pop it into an airtight tin.
It will keep for a few days. No worries if it goes a little stale, just warm it up and serve with custard.
Notes:
If you can, buy large, juicy, wax-free limes (the zest is used as well as the juice so best without the wax coating).
Note:
The sugar for the syrup can be a simple white granulated, sugar nibs or
for extra flavour, demerara. All will give a crunchy coating to the
cake and bring much needed sweetness too.
By Elaine Lemm
British & Irish Food Expert, about.com
