Gin and pink grapefruit tonic drizzle cake

Lets eat

Total time: 1 hour 30 mins

Ingredients

• 200 g unsalted butter*, softened, plus extra to grease the tin

• 200 g caster sugar

• 4 medium eggs*, beaten

• 200 g self-raising flour

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• Finely grated zest 1 pink grapefruit

• 75 ml Graveney gin

*It tastes just as yummy with a vegan substitute

FOR THE SYRUP AND TOPPING

• 75 g caster sugar

• 75 ml pink grapefruit tonic water

• 3 tbsp Graveney gin

• 100 g icing sugar, sifted

• Red or pink food colouring

Let’s bake

Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line base and sides of a 900g baking tin.

In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with a handheld electric whisk until light and fluffy, about 3min. Gradually add eggs, beating well each time.

Add in flour, baking powder, and grapefruit zest, followed by the gin. Spoon into the prepared tin and bake for 55min-1hr or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the sugar syrup and pour yourself a gin and tonic: Half the grapefruit and squeeze the juice from one half only. Gently heat the caster sugar and tonic water in a small pan, stirring often, until the sugar dissolves. Turn up the heat and boil for 1min. Remove from heat and mix in the gin and 1tbsp grapefruit juice.

When the loaf comes out of the oven, poke holes all over the top with a skewer and slowly drizzle over half the gin syrup mixture. Leave to soak in for 10min then drizzle with remaining syrup. Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack.

Mix the icing sugar with enough grapefruit juice (about 11/2tbsp), to make a slightly thick but pourable icing. Use a cocktail stick to add a very small amount of food colouring to the icing, to tinge it a pale pink (repeat if necessary until you get the desired shade). Spoon icing over the cake and serve to hungry friends and family.