Vegan gin cake
Servings 10
Ingredients
For the cake
- 275 g self raising flour
- 200 g caster sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Zest of 1½ limes
- 5 crushed juniper berries optional
- 100 ml vegetable oil
- 170 ml tonic water
- Juice of 1 lime
- 60 g stem ginger optional
For the syrup
- 125 g caster sugar
- 125 ml tonic water or fizzy water
- 30 ml gin
For decoration
- 100 g icing sugar
- 20 ml gin
- Zest from ½ lime
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/Gas mark 6. Grease and line a loaf tin.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, then add the sugar and zest from 1½ limes and the crushed juniper berries if using.
- In another bowl, mix together the vegetable oil, tonic water and lime juice.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix thoroughly.
- Add the stem ginger to the bowl if using.
- Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin and bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Once the cake is out of the oven, leave to cool for 10 minutes.
- Whilst the cake is cooling, make the syrup by combining the gin, tonic and caster sugar together.
- Poke holes into the cake using a skewer. This allows the syrup to flavour the inside of the cake.
- Pour the syrup over the cake. See the notes for how to make a crispier top!
- If using icing, make sure the cake is cool, then sift the icing sugar and add the gin. Pour over the cake.
- Decorate with the remaining zest.
Notes
If you like a crispier crust to your cake, bake again in the oven after pouring the syrup at 160°C/140°C fan/325°F/Gas mark 3 for at least another 10 minutes or longer depending on taste.