Heat your oven to 180ºc/160ºc fan and prep 12 cases
Beat the butter with the caster sugar until light and fluffy
Add the eggs and flour and mix again
Add in the gin, and the tonic, and then beat again.
Spoon the mix into the cupcake cases evenly and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until a skewer poked into one of the cakes comes out clean and they are springy to touch – leave them to cool fully on a wire rack.
Gin Syrup
Add the sugar, gin and tonic water to a pan on boil for a minute so the sugar dissolves. Brush/Spoon over the baked cupcakes.
Buttercream
Beat the butter with an electric mixer for a couple of minutes to loosen it – gradually beat in the icing sugar until well combined (this can take up to 5 minutes).
Add in the gin and tonic one tablespoon of each at a time, and beat fully each time.
Decoration
I used a 2D Closed Star Piping Tip to decorate my cakes but you can do whatever you like!
Once iced, add a lime or lemon slice to the cupcake, and add part of a straw for show. Sprinkle on some lime/lemon zest and enjoy!
Notes
YOU MUST USE ACTUAL BUTTER FOR BUTTERCREAM – I can’t stress this enough. I get comments often about ‘why is my buttercream so runny’ and 9/10 times its because the incorrect butter was used.
You can’t use stork, or a spread, or a substitute for buttercream. This is even more important for this recipe as you are adding more liquid than usual.
I used Bombay Sapphire Gin for these cupcakes, and Fever Tree Tonic as it has a strong flavour. You can use any you like, but better quality ones with a better and stronger flavour are important.
You can use anything to decorate it with, but I love a wedge or two of lime with my G&Ts!
These cupcakes will last in an airtight container for 3 days at room temperature!
You can easily leave out the gin and the tonic and use G&T Flavouring instead!