If you love a cheeky G&T, this one’s for you! This gin and tonic loaf cake recipe takes all the zesty, botanical flavours of your favourite cocktail and turns them into a gorgeous teatime treat.
With fresh lime, a triple-hit of your favourite gin in the sponge, syrup and icing, plus a zingy tonic drizzle, it’s a total crowd-pleaser. Simple to make and perfect for everything from garden parties to everyday enjoyment with a cuppa (or indeed a real G&T) it’s basically happy hour in a slice. Go on, you know you want to!
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Yields:
8 - 10 serving(s)
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
1 hr 10 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 35 mins
Cal/Serv:
451
Ingredients
200g
unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
200g
caster sugar
4
medium eggs, beaten
200g
self-raising flour
1/2tsp.
baking powder
Finely grated zest 1 lime
75ml
gin
For the syrup and topping
125g
caster sugar, plus extra to sprinkle
125ml
tonic water
31/2Tbsp.
gin
2
limes, cut in 1/2 through their length and sliced into 3mm half moons
100g
icing sugar
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line base and sides of a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with a handheld electric whisk until light and fluffy – about 5min. Gradually add eggs, beating well after each addition.
Step 2Fold in flour, baking powder and lime zest, followed by the gin. Spoon into prepared tin and bake for 55min-1hr or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Step 3Meanwhile, make sugar syrup: gently heat the caster sugar and tonic water in a small pan, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Turn up heat and boil for 1min. Spoon 2tbsp of the syrup into a small bowl and mix in 2tbsp of the gin (this mixture will be used to soak the loaf later). Set pan of remaining syrup aside.
Step 4As soon as the loaf comes out of the oven, poke holes into the top with a skewer and drizzle over the reserved syrup/gin mixture. Cool loaf in tin on a wire rack.
Step 5Meanwhile, make the candied lime slices. Reheat the remaining sugar syrup in its pan until boiling, then add the lime slices. Simmer for 10-12min until the slices are translucent. Lift out slices with a slotted spoon on to baking parchment, then sprinkle both sides of the lime slices liberally with caster sugar. Leave to dry.
Step 6Make icing by mixing together icing sugar with remaining 1½tbsp gin. Remove cooled loaf from tin, transfer to a board and peel off parchment. Pour over icing and decorate with the dried candied lime slices. Leave the cake to set before serving.
GH TIPS:
Use a good quality tonic and London dry gin to get the best flavour into your loaf.
Substitute lemons for limes, if you prefer a yellow slice in your G&T.
TO STORE:
The iced loaf will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days (if decorated with citrus slices, it will keep for 3 days).
Per Serving:
Calories: 451
Fibre: 1 g
Total carbs: 58 g
Sugars: 43 g
Total fat: 19 g
Saturated fat: 11 g
Protein: 5 g
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An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
