Soft and Delicious Gin & Tonic Sponges, with Gin & Tonic Buttercream Frosting, Lime, and a little Straw to Decorate! My new favourite Gin and Tonic Cupcakes!
Heat your oven to 180C/160 Fan/350F and line a cupcake/muffin tin with 12 Large cupcakes cases/Muffin Cases. Or put your Iced Jems Baking Cups onto a flat tray!
With a stand mixer – Beat the butter with the caster sugar until light and fluffy – Combine the eggs and self-raising flour with the butter/sugar mix until well combined. It won’t take too long to mix!
Add in the Gin, and the Tonic, and then beat again. The mixture will be runnier than usual which is why there is more flour added in.
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.
If making and using the 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.
For the 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 Tonic & Gin one tablespoon of each at a time, and beat fully each time. The mixture will be slightly slacker than usual, but you want the flavour so be aware!
For the 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 Wedge 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!