A pink gin and poppy seed cake, speckled with pretty little poppy seeds, dosed in a rich gin syrup and topped off with pink gin icing. If you are a gin fan, in particular a pink gin fan, you are going to adore this cake!
So I was thinking Gin cake. Lemon drizzle cake. Poppy seed cake. These three are surely just waiting to be united in one big glorious slab of gin loaf cake heaven right?!?
But hey let's go a step further let's bring the pink gin into the party! It really can only be a good thing! And so pink gin and poppy seed cake was born.
Warning : this cake is for adults only. I do mean that. This cakes contains copious amounts of pink gin.
So I have several official Ella's Better Bakes testers. These willing participants take the form of immediate family and my neighbour who kindly provides me with eggs laid by his chickens in return. It's a good gig for me and I feel I definitely come out better from this deal. Freshly laid eggs, soft boiled with toast soldiers. Heaven.
Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.
Oscar Wilde
Verdicts from the EBB Official Tasting Panel
My neighbour had never had gin cake before and was therefore totally intrigued by the flavours of the cake and really liked it. I got more eggs as a result. Excellent.
My mom is not a gin drinker but the cake seems to have turned her. She has since expressed a future plan to explore all the gin variants life has to offer. A bad experience with a bitter tonic long ago left it's scar and she admits it was unfair to blame the gin for this, clearly the tonic was at fault. Since tasting this cake she is now ready to move on and pink gin is top of the list.
My work here is done.
She describes the cake as having elderflower undertones, lovely and moist and a perfect consistency. She loved the texture from the poppy seeds and she would like some more please when I bake another one.
My son enjoyed the cake and was a bit blown away by potency of it. I should add here my son is 21. This cake should not be given to children, there really is a lot of pink gin in it.
Various other family members adored the cake and I am in total agreement and will be making it again very soon!
Why does this Pink Gin and Poppy Seed cake work so well?
Pink gin: Pink gin began its life a a cocktail. For me it is my go-to gin every time. And I have certainly tried a few over the years. This sweet, floral, botanic gin works so well when added to a cake.
Lemon zest: hints of lemon permeate this cake. The lemon mingles perfectly with the pink gin and the poppy seeds, and really give another zingy dimension to the cake.
Poppy seeds : poppy seeds are good for you! They are packed with magnesium, which is good for bones and good for blood. Added to which they add a lovely, interesting texture to this cake.
Pink gin syrupy drizzle: this pink gin loaf cake is quite deep and therefore benefits from a lovely syrupy gin drizzle. Adding the drizzle whilst the cake is still hot from the oven ensures it soaks up the drizzle throughout and results in a beautiful moist pink gin cake.
Pink gin icing: the icing is a simple mix of fine sifted icing sugar and pink gin. It really is the icing on the cake finishing it off with a punchy pink gin topping.
Important to remember when making this gin loaf cake
Creaming butter and sugar: in order to produce a cake that is both light and moist it is really important to use softened butter and cream it with your sugar until really light and pale in colour. This may take a few minutes.
Eggs: ensure your eggs are at room temperature. This guarantees that cake rises and bonds together.
Pink gin syrup drizzle: don't be tempted to skip the drizzle step and just ice this cake . It needs a drink of gin drizzle before it is iced to keep it lovely and moist and enhance the gin flavour.
How to make Pink Gin and Poppy Seed cake
Another really easy one to make.
Start with creaming together your butter and caster sugar. This will take longer if your butter is not soft enough, Cream both until lovely and soft and light and pale yellow in colour.
Add in your lemon zest and pink gin and give everything a quick whizz in your stand mixer or hand mixer just to combine.
Add in one third of your beaten eggs along with 2 heaped desert spoonfuls of sifted flour/baking powder. Mix on a medium speed into fully incorporated. Repeat twice more until the eggs have all been mixed in.
Beat in the remaining flour.
Add to a well greased 2lb loaf tin. I recommend that you line the tin because this cake can get itself a bit too attached to the tin if not. Plus personally I never want to risk a cake sticking to the pan.
Bake for 45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre of your cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.
As soon as your cake is out of the oven paint over your syrup drizzle with a pastry brush. This ensures a moist cake, a hot cake soaks the drizzle far more readily, before any crust has chance to form.
To make the syrup drizzle gently heat your water and sugar until the sugar has dissolved, then leave it to simmer for 1 minute. Take off the heat and mix in your gin. Poke holes in your hot cake with a skewer and pour over the syrup, using a pastry brush to ensure it is spread out evenly.
Once the cake is cool make your pink gin icing. Simply sift your icing sugar, add your gin, mix and pour over the cake.
Decorate with a sprinkling of pretty poppy seeds.
ENJOY! Please do leave me some feedback and rate this recipe.
📖 Recipe
Pink gin and poppy seed cake
Here's what you'll need...
Ingredients you'll need...
Pink gin cake
- 225 g unsalted butter softened
- 225 g caster sugar
- 225 g self raising flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 75 ml pink gin
- 2 tablespoon poppy seeds
- 3 large eggs at room temperature and lightly beaten
- zest of 2 lemons
Pink gin syrup drizzle
- 30 g caster sugar
- 30 ml cold water
- 1 tablespoon pink gin
Pink gin icing
- 150 g icing sugar sifted
- 2 tablespoon pink gin
- juice of ½ a lemon
Here's what we do...
Pink gin cake
- Heat your over to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas mark 3
- Grease your 2lb loaf tin - or line with greaseproof paper.
- Beat your butter and sugar together until light and fluffy and pale yellow in colour.
- Gently beat in your pink gin and lemon zest until combined.
- Sift together your flour and baking powder into a separate bowl.
- Add ⅓ of your beaten eggs and mix on a medium speed for a few rotations.
- Add in 3 desert spoonfuls of your sifted flour and baking powder and mix again for a few rotations on a medium speed until just combined.
- Repeat the above steps twice more until all of the eggs have been beaten in.
- Add in the rest of your flour and mix on a medium setting until all the flour has been incorporated, scraping down the mixing bowl with a spatula mid way to ensure everything gets fully mixed in.
- Add the mixture to your loaf tin.
- Using the back of a metal desert spoon, gently spread the mixture out so that it evenly fills the tin.
- Bake in the centre of your oven for about 45 minutes or until a metal skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack.
Pink gin syrup drizzle
- 5 minutes before you cake is due to come out of the oven make your pink gin drizzle
- Add your sugar and water to a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves, stirring constantly.
- Bring to a gentle boil and and simmer for 1 minute.
- Remove from the heat and mix in 1 tablespoon of pink gin.
- As soon as it is out of the oven, prick the cake all over, top and bottom, with a skewer.
- "Paint" over your syrup and gin drizzle using a pastry brush both on the top and the bottom of the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool fully.
Pink gin icing
- Sift your icing sugar into a bowl.
- Mix in your lemon juice and pink gin.
- Pour evenly over your cake, starting in the middle so the icing spreads out and falls down the sides of the cake.
Supporting Notes
Make Your own Notes on this Recipe here...
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