How to make a Gin & Tonic Cake with Pink Grapefruit Icing!

Pink grapefruit gin and tonic layer cake



Line two 8" round cake tins with baking parchment and preheat the oven to 170 degrees fan.



Make your gin and tonic syrup ready for the cake once baked;



Syrup ingredients;



150ml tonic water

100g sugar and 30/40 juniper berries, crushed

30ml gin



Bring to the boil and then allow to reduce to about 1/2 of original volume, leave to cool, strain out berries if you like or leave them in, add 30ml gin to the syrup.



Sponge ingredients;



300g soft butter

300g golden caster sugar

approx 40 juniper berries, crushed finely

grated zest of one pink grapefruit

6 medium free-range eggs

300g self-raising flour with a teaspoon of baking powder sifted in



-Cream the butter, sugar, juniper berries and zest together until very pale and fluffy

-slowly beat in the eggs until combined

-Gently mix or fold in the flour gently until just incorporated.

-Spoon into the cake tins, half the batter in each and bake for approximately 25-35 minutes, a testing knife should come out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 minutes then turn out and remove paper, piece some holes over the cake with a skewer or cocktail stick and generously douse in the gin and tonic syrup by brushing over liberally with a pastry brush. and allow to cool completely.



Gin and Tonic pink grapefruit curd




Juice and zest of a grapefruit



3 tablespoons cornflour



3 free-range egg yolks

50 butter

275ml water







Butter cream



250g butter

500g icing sugar

zest of one grapefruit and splash of gin if desired



Make the butter cream by beating the soft butter and icing sugar together until pale, light and creamy. A hand whisk or free standing mixer is easiest to do this or if not lots of elbow grease. Add the grapefruit zest and a splash of gin if desired.



To fill the cake, slice each half in half again through the centre to create two layers per sponge, so you have 4 layers in total.



Layer up with a spread of curd over each layer and buttercream spread on each layer with a palette knife between each of the sponges.



Top with a little more buttercream and decorate as you wish, I used lovely crystallised edible flowers.



Recipe for the Edible crystalised flowers



I got mine from Maddocks farm organics….they do a lovely selection of organic edible flowers and can be ordered easily online.



Beat one egg white until foamy, paint the petals carefully, in between all the nooks and crannies wirth a fine soft paintbrush.



Then dust over with fine white caster sugar and leave to set for at least 24 hours on a piece of parchment so they set hard and dry.



These should last for up to two weeks. Alternatively use fresh flowers if you wish.