Lemon & Gin Drizzle Cake

During lockdown I’ve been doing lots of baking and cooking (then again who hasn’t?). And I’ve found this fabulous recipe for a Lemon & Gin Drizzle cake. Who doesn’t love cake and a G&T?

• 225g softened butter
• 225g caster sugar
• 250g self-raising flour
• Zest of 2 lemons (save the juice for the drizzle)
• 1 tsp of finely chopped fresh rosemary (the recipe also says ‘plus 1 medium sprig’ but I didn’t want a twig in my cake!)
• 4 medium eggs
• 100ml gin

For the drizzle…

• Juice of 2 lemons
• 75ml gin
• 150g granulated sugar 

Plus… a double G&T for whilst you’re baking!

Now for how to do it…

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin, measuring 20x9cm on the base, 8cm deep.
   
   
2. Beat together the butter, sugar, flour, lemon zest, chopped rosemary and eggs until pale and creamy, using a hand/electric whisk (unless you have arms of steel and want to use a manual whisk), then gradually mix in 100ml gin, to give a mixture that drops easily from the whisk.
   
   
3. Have a sip of your G&T.
   
   
4. Pour into the prepared tin and gently press a rosemary sprig into the top of the cake (if you don’t mind having a twig in your cake). Bake in the oven for 1hr-1hr 15 mins, or about 50 minutes if you have an AGA (you might need another G&T whilst it’s in the oven). The cake should be well risen, golden brown and firm to the touch; a skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Remove from the oven and sit the tin on a cooling rack over a baking tray to catch any drips.
   
   
5. Mix the lemon juice with the gin and granulated sugar. Poke holes in the cake with a skewer or cocktail stick and once the cake has cooled gradually drizzle the gin and lemon syrup all over, allowing it to soak in.
   
   
6. Enjoy!

We have a resident baker here at Hug At Home, make sure to look out for some of her recipes! (She's a lot better at baking than me!)

Busy Lizzie x