Cooking with gin: sweet edition

Something a little different from your usual gin and tonic or cocktail! You spoke and I listened, so here is a round up of sweet recipes to cook that use gin. I’ve also done a savoury gin recipe round up too, if sweet isn’t your thing. So for lockdown 3 why not bake with gin?!

Cooking with gin: sweet edition

*Full disclosure, all brands have contributed recipes from a call out on social media, no gifted gin was involved in the writing of this post! Where I’ve previously been gifted gin or worked with a brand before I’ve disclosed this with [prior partnership] after the first name mention*

For ease of finding the recipes here is the run down of those included in this blog:

1. Thunderflower Blood Orange Drizzle Cake
2. Shed 1 Gin, Clementine & Cranberry Fruit Cake
3. Atlantic Spirit Clotted Cream, Lemon & Gin Drizzle Cake
4. Negroni Brownies
5. Rock Rose Autumn Edition Banana Cake
6. Crossbill Pineapple Gin Upside-Down Cake
7. Haymans Sloe Gin Chocolate Mousse
8. Gin and tonic pancakes

1 Thunderflower Blood Orange Drizzle Cake [prior relationship]

When I put out the call for some ginspired recipes Anicca from Thunderflower responded with two! This is the first, adapted from Sainsbury’s magazine, a blood orange drizzle cake with Thunderflower gin in the drizzle, perfect for the season:

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 225g very soft unsalted butter, plus extra to grease
• 225g self-raising flour
• 1 rounded tsp baking powder
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• finely grated zest of 2 blood oranges
• 1 blood orange, sliced to decorate

For the drizzle

• 75g icing sugar
• 50g caster sugar
• juice of 2 blood oranges (zest these for the cake mix before juicing them!)
• 60ml of Thunderflower Gin
• Large tbs of quince jelly

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Grease and base-line a deep 20cm round cake tin.
2. Cream butter and sugar till pale and fluffy. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and add in the baking powder, eggs, zest and a pinch of salt.
3. Stir butter mix and flour mix together until combined. Spoon the mixture into the cake tin & bake for 45 minutes until firm and springy and a skewer comes out clean.
4. While the cake is baking, make the drizzle. Sift the icing sugar into a pan and add the other ingredients, warm gently stirring until sugars and quince has dissolved.
5. When the cake is cooked make lots of small holes right to the base of the cake using a skewer. Spoon the drizzle over the warm cake and leave to cool in the tin.
6. Serve decorated with the blood orange slices & enjoy!

 

2 Shed 1 Gin, Clementine & Cranberry Fruit Cake

Shed 1 Gin have been working with Ginger Bakers on a couple of different projects and their Clementine & Cranberry Fruit cake using Shed 1’s Festive Tipple gin is just one of these collaborations (keep your eyes peeled for a Shed Loads of Love special in time for Valentine’s day):

Makes 1 x 500g loaf cake

Ingredients:

• 115g Sultanas
• 95g Dried Cranberries
• 20g Mixed Peel
• 20g Chopped Dried Apricots
• 25ml Shed 1 Festive Tipple Gin
• 65g Salted Butter at room temperature
• 60g Dark Brown Soft Sugar
• 1 Large Free-Range Egg
• 6g Glycerin
• 2 x Clementine Zest
• 65g Plain Flour Sieved
• ¼ tsp Ground Cinnamon
• ¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg

Topping:

• 1 tbsp. Sieved Apricot Jam
• 5ml Boiled Water
• 2 x Glace Orange Slices
• 10g Dried Cranberries

Method:

1. Weigh out the dried fruit into a bowl, cover with 20ml of Shed 1 Festive Tipple Gin and leave for a minimum of 24 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees/gas 2. Grease and Line a small loaf tin.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until pale, smooth and creamy.
4. Beat in the egg slowly then add the glycerin and clementine zest until all are combined.
5. In a separate bowl combine the sieved flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.
6. Add a spoonful of the flour mix to the butter mixture and combine, then add a spoonful of the soaked fruit mixture and combine. Repeat until all the ingredients are used.
7. Put the mixture into the lined tin and bake for 50 min – 1hour. A metal skewer should come out clean when inserted
8. Remove from the oven and pour over 5ml of Shed 1 Festive Tipple. Allow to cool and remove from the tin and paper.
9. Brush with a mix of apricot jam and boiled water then decorate with glace orange slices and dried cranberries.

 

3 Atlantic Spirit Clotted Cream & Lundy Gin Drizzle Cake

Based on the North Devon coast Atlantic Spirit have combined local ingredients for this cake – including clotted cream and their Lundy Gin – inspired by a recipe from Delicious Magazine. Clotted cream is an indulgent and beautiful delicacy from the West country and helps to make this a gorgeously light and tasty cake. Lundy gin is distilled using Lemon balm, thyme, gorse flowers and also rosemary, which is why this gin is perfect in the drizzle.

Ingredients:

• 2 Large Free-Range Eggs
• 225 g Caster Sugar
• 227 g Tub of Clotted Cream
• Grated Zest of 2 Lemons
• 215g Self-Raising Flour, sifted
• 2tsp Lemon Juice (keep the rest for the drizzle)

Gin Drizzle

• Remaining lemon juice
• 50-75ml (depending on how ginny you like it!) Atlantic Spirit Lundy gin
• A Fresh Rosemary Sprig (plus extra to garnish)
• 5 generous tablespoons of Granulated Sugar

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4. Lightly oil & line a 1 litre loaf tin. Use an electric hand mixer to whisk the eggs and sugar in a mixing bowl until pale, thick and almost doubled in size. Don’t rush this bit!
2. Gently beat in the clotted cream with the lemon zest and 2tsp lemon juice until smooth, then fold in the flour with a pinch of salt. Pour into the prepared tin, then bake for 60-70 minutes until a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. (After 30 mins cover with greaseproof paper if browning too quickly)
3. To make the drizzle. Put all the juices (with just 25ml of the gin) and the rosemary in a small pan and heat gently until the mixture bubbles. Leave to cool for 2 minutes, then add the sugar and remaining gin. Stir.
4. Remove cake from the oven and pierce it all over with a metal skewer, don’t be shy!
5. Slowly pour over half the hot drizzle, whilst still in the tin, letting it sink in. After a minute or two remove from the tin onto a wire rack to cool.
6. When cooled make holes with a skewer on the underside, then slowly pour over the remaining drizzle.
7. Finally sprinkle with a little sugar and some fresh rosemary.

 

4 Negroni Brownies

These brownies are my own development and this is where I admit that I usually make them from a packet mix. That’s the super lazy way to bake with gin, Campari and Vermouth! Because of the addition of liquid these brownies get quite wet and will be gooey – if you like them drier bake for slightly longer.

Ingredients:

• Packet of chopped candied peel
• 25ml gin
• 25ml Campari
• 25ml vermouth
• Packet of chocolate brownie mix
• Extra chocolate chunks

Method:

Soak the candied peel in the gin, Campari and vermouth for a few hours or preferably overnight.

Preheat the oven as mentioned on the brownie mix pack. Make the brownie mix up according to packet instructions (they usually ask you to add an egg and oil to the dry mix), but don’t add any water.  Grease and line a tin or oven proof dish. Mix in half the candied peel and all the liquor that hasn’t absorbed. Pour/spoon into the tin and add the remainder of the candied peel and extra chocolate chunks on top. Bake according to packet instructions, check with a skewer before removing from the oven – they may need a few minutes more due to the added liquid content. Allow to cool and then slice up and devour!

 

5 Rock Rose Autumn Edition Banana Cake [prior partnership]

If you sign up to the Rock Rose newsletter you’ll get delights like this Autumn Edition banana cake recipe, which they’ve allowed me to reproduce here! Beat your lockdown 1 banana bread with this recipe including Rock Rose Gin. You can check out more food and cocktail recipes they have with their full range of gins on the Rock Rose website.

Ingredients:

•  1 ripe Banana
•  110g butter, melted
•  2 eggs
•  130g caster sugar
•  100g Raspberries
•  110g Self raising flour
•  3/4 tsp Ground cinnamon
•  1/2 tsp Salt
•  Pinch of nutmeg
•  2 tbsps Rock Rose Gin – Autumn Edition

Method:

1.  Mash the banana in a bowl with a fork
2.  Add the melted butter, eggs and sugar
3.  Mash the raspberries through a sieve, to remove the seeds, into the same bowl
4.  Beat on a low setting til smooth
5.  Sieve in the remaining dry ingredients and lightly mix
6.  Add in the Autumn Edition and stir to combine
7.  Pour into a lined loaf tin and bake for 1 hour, until a skewer comes out clean
8.  Allow to cool in the tin for around 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack

 

6 Crossbill Pineapple Gin Upside-Down Cake

This recipe was suggested by Rachel, one third of Gin on the Tyne. She adapted a BBC food recipe to use Crossbill Pineapple gin liqueur in it and that sounded lush, so I had to include it! Crossbill Pineapple Gin Liqueur is 40% with no added sugar, it’s just the high levels of sugar from the pineapple that result in it being labelled a liqueur.

Ingredients:

• 425g tin pineapple rings in juice (drained weight 250g)
• 4 tbsp soft light brown sugar
• 235g/8oz unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
• 175g/6oz caster sugar
• 3 free-range eggs, beaten
• ½ tsp vanilla bean paste
• 175g/6oz self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp milk
• 100ml Crossbill Pineapple gin liqueur

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 4. Butter the sides of a deep 20cm/8in cake tin.
2. Drain the pineapple slices and place in a shallow dish, marinate with 50ml of the Crossbill pineapple liqueur. Put the soft brown sugar and 50g/2oz of the butter in a small frying pan and melt over a medium heat. Add 60ml of Crossbill pineapple liqueur and spoon into the prepared cake tin. Cut seven of the pineapple rings in half to make semi-circles and arrange around the tin – you may only need six of the rings depending on how tightly you pack the slices. Place the remaining whole ring in the middle of the tin.
3. Cream the remaining 175g/6oz butter and the caster sugar together until pale and light. Gradually add the eggs, mixing well between each addition. Add the vanilla and mix again.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl, add the milk and mix until smooth. Carefully spoon over the pineapple slices and spread level.
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until risen, golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
6. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 1 minute and then carefully turn out onto a serving plate and leave to cool. This cake is best served slightly warm or at room temperature, with vanilla ice cream, lightly whipped cream or custard.

 

7 Hayman’s Sloe Gin Chocolate Mousse [prior partnership]

It was a few years ago that Hayman’s sent me samples of their sloe gin and this recipe. I tasted the sloe gin and I made the recipe and was delighted to be eating these mousses for a week! (They do freeze well – without the cream FYI)

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 200ml Hayman’s Sloe Gin
• 200g 70% cocoa solids dark chocolate, broken into pieces (set aside 20g for garnish)
• 600ml double cream
• 3 large eggs, whites and yolks separated
• 100g sloe berries (if you don’t have sloe berries I can vouch that raspberries work as good replacement)
• 100g caster sugar

Method:

1. Place the sloe berries in a pan with three-quarters of the sugar and warm over a low heat
2. Stir to combine, allow the sugar to dissolve and simmer for 5 minutes
3. Press the cooked berries through a sieve using the back of a wooden spoon. Set aside to cool
4. Place the chocolate pieces in a bowl set over a bain-marie at a low simmer, allowing the chocolate to melt slowly
5. Remove from the heat and stir until smooth
6. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before stirring in the egg yolks (mix thoroughly, to avoid any lumps), followed by the sweetened sloe coulis (keep 20g aside for garnish) and 100ml of Hayman’s Sloe Gin
7. Whisk the double cream with the rest of the caster sugar until it forms rough peaks
8. Slowly stir in 100ml of Hayman’s Sloe Gin little by little to the whipped cream, to prevent the cream from curdling
9. Set a little of the cream mixture aside for garnish and fold the rest into the chocolate mixture
10. Whisk the egg whites until they become soft peaks and fold into the rest of the mixture
11. Serve with a garnish of Hayman’s Sloe Gin-sweetened cream, flaked chocolate, and drizzle over the remaining coulis

 

8 Gin and tonic pancakes

As we are a month away from Lent starting, why not get prepared for Shrove Tuesday with these pancakes, which use both gin and tonic in the pancake mix and syrup to drizzle over: