This easy gin and tonic cake is the perfect gin lovers cake. Based on my delicious limoncello and gin cocktail this cake has a cocktail drizzled on each layer of the cake. My gin and tonic drizzle cake is moist and fruity and perfect for the gin fans. With added limoncello, this gin cocktail cake is a beautiful boozy bake. Enjoy this gin cake all year round no matter what the weather.
Cocktails and cakes go surprisingly well together. In my latest recipe this gin cocktail cake I have created this beautiful gin layer cake which is drizzled with a thick gin drizzle. This brings out the best of the iconic gin flavours. I also added limoncello to boost the flavour and add a delicious citrus flavour to the finished gin and tonic cake.
When decorating the cake, I decided to kept this cake decorated in a simple way so it didn’t take away from the finished cake flavour. I added a little sprig of thyme and a thin lemon quarter to give a hint about what the flavours will be inside.
Why you’ll love this gin and tonic cake recipe
- I’ve made this incredible easy gin cake and infused it with three incredible flavours. You have the gorgeous gin flavour, with added limoncello and thyme. These three beautiful flavours work together so well and I’ve even been enjoying the cocktail version of this which you can find below. I give you my gin layer cake. It’s easy to make and is definitely a show stopper!
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Top Questions
Can you add gin to cake mix?
Can you put the cake in the freezer?
How do I make buttercream?
How to make buttercream white?
Can I freeze buttercream?
How do you decorate a gin cake?
Enjoy the matching gin and limoncello cocktail
The Limoncello and Gin Cocktail with a hint of crushed thyme is a beautiful drink, easy to sip in the sun and has a fresh aromatic yet glorious citrus flavour.
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My Gin Cocktail Cake
Gin and Tonic Cake
Gin and tonic are iconic and what better way to mix the joy of cake and gin than with this gin and tonic cake. This beautifully golden brown cake is calling out to be eaten and enjoyed.
Gin and Tonic Cake Ingredients
For the full recipe and instructions scroll to the bottom of the page for the recipe card.
Gin
Limoncello
How to make – step by step
A gin drizzle is the easiest way to take a normal sponge and take it to the next level. Even if you have a made a normal vanilla sponge or Victoria sponge this drizzle will work., all you need is gin, of course, lemon curd and limoncello.
Making the Cake
- Grease and line two six-inch cake tins.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160º fan.
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs one at a time.
- Sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix together.
- Zest of the two lemons and mix them into the cake mix.
- Take a few sprigs of fresh thyme and finely chop it into the mix. Stir together.
- Divide the cake between the two tins and bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and when a cake tester comes out it’s done. Leave to cool for 30mins and then remove to a cooling rack until cold.
Making the buttercream
- In a stand mixer beat the butter gradually adding the icing sugar and the milk until light and fluffy and well incorporated.
- If you want beautifully white buttercream add a tiny amount of purple food colouring paste. The purple will neutralise the yellow tint of the buttercream. Be careful to add a tiny amount at a time otherwise, it will go purple.
- Add a large round nozzle to a piping bag and fill it up with the buttercream.
Making the drizzle
- Add the limoncello and gin into a saucepan and on a low heat mix together until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready (it should still be warm).
Combining the components
- Level off the cakes and cut them into two horizontally into two equal pieces. So you have 4 layers altogether.
- On a cake plate or turntable start assembling the layers. Add the first layer and gently spoon a tablespoon of drizzle over the cake and allow it to soak in.
- Divide the cake up by pipping a blob of buttercream into quarters and add three blobs in-between them. Fill in the central space with buttercream so the cake will stack level.
- Repeat with the other layers.
- When you reach the top layer only pipe the blobs around the outside.
- Decorate the top with slices of lemon and fresh sprigs of thyme.
Gin Layer Cake – the perfect party cake
This is definitely the most perfect party cake. It’s striking and a definite show stopper! The 4 chunky layers look beautifully golden brown and the blob way of building up the filling was so simple to do and gives a great effect for the finished cake. Each layer was given a good drizzle with the gin and limoncello drizzle. This helped keep the cake moist but also gives it, it’s most beautiful flavour.
This cake looks, tastes and smells amazing. Plus I know it looks complicated but it really isn’t. To get the blobs of buttercream I marked out the cake into quarters and filled each quarter with 4 blobs and then worked my way up with each layer trying to match the blobs. Along with the buttercream blobs I made a cocktail drizzle up to get the rich lemon flavour and get the cake extra moist.
Want a cocktail that matches the cake? Try out my limoncello, thyme and gin cocktail. Click here
Top Tips
- Use purple colour paste to balance the yellow in your buttercream. This will help you achieve that picturesque classic white fluffy buttercream. Do not use a liquid colour as this can pff-sett the consistency of your buttercream frosting.
- After drizzling wth the gin and limoncello drizzle, leave your layers to rest for a moment before you start to stack and decorate. This allows the drizzle to settle and fall evenly throughout the cake layer.
Serving Suggestions
Paired with my excellent matching cocktail of course.
This easy gin cake is the perfect summer picnic treat. It’s light and fresh and just smells like summer. I would suggest enjoying it with friends and family in the sunshine.
You could add some other fresh fruits on top for some more flavour. Strawberries and cream are the perfect summer treat and topping this gin and tonic layer cake with them just takes it up a level!
Equipment
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- Saucepan
- Cake Tin
- Whisk
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden Spoon
Gin and Tonic Cake Substitutions and variations
Summer Berries
Why not try making this Gin drizzle cake with a flavoured gin? I love this summer berries gin and you can swap out the lemon with strawberries, raspberries and maybe even a blueberries. You can decorate the top with these berries to make a wonderful summer picnic lemon gin cake!
Rum
Another way to spice up this gin and tonic cake, a warming rum can take this drizzle cake from summer cake to warming winter spiced dessert.
Swap the gin and limoncelo for a spiced rum and cherry liquor. Perfect! It’s a light and airy sponge full of flavour.
Storing / Making ahead of time options
I love this gin drizzle cake when it’s freshly baked, but you can bake it a day or two before you are ready to serve it, just keep it in an airtight container in a dry, dark cupboard and then decorate the day of serving.
Alternatively, you can freeze the baked cake layers, they will then keep for up to 6 months and just need to be fly defrosted before you decorate. Scroll down to see how to properly freeze individual cake layers.
FAQS
Can you add gin to cake mix?
You can add gin to cake! In this recipe, you add the gin to the drizzle and use it to soak each layer. That way it infuses with the flavours of the cake without spoiling the consistency of your bake.
Can you put cake in the freezer?
You can put cake in the freezer. I would recommend freezing after baking but prior to decorating. If you wrap your cake layers in separate cling filmed layers and then freeze it will retain all its moisture and some even say it’s tastier after freezing than when served fresh.
How do I make Buttercream?
Buttercream is a beautifully adaptable cake decorating tool and one that I often bulk make and pop in the freezer for later. For the best results pop it in a mixer and mix to death. Unlike cake mixtures, you can’t really over mix buttercream. I add a little milk to the buttercream as it really helps the icing sugar and butter combine. To make the buttercream look less yellow I use a tiny amount (and I mean tiny) of purple food colour paste. Add a little at a time and really mix it in before adding more. The purple reduces the yellow but make sure you don’t add too much as the mix will go quickly purple.
How to make buttercream white?
There is a super-easy way to make buttercream appear more white. Usually thanks to the yellow tone of butter it can make the buttercream look yellow too even with using icing sugar. You will need a violet colour paste, don’t use liquid food as it will be too wet for the buttercream. The purple tone in the colour paste will reduce the warmth of the yellow in the buttercream. You need to add a tiny piece at a time and mix it in well. Add a little at a time until the yellow is reducing. Be careful as too much purple will turn the mixture purple. This is such a great trick and it’s one I use a lot!
Can I freeze buttercream?
Yes, you absolutely can! Once it’s ready as you would normally use it pop it in a sandwich bag and remove as much air as possible. Pop it in the freezer and that’s it. To defrost the buttercream remove it from the freezer and leave it to get up to room temperature in the bag. When it’s defrosted and soft pop it in the mixer and whip it up again to the consistency you want. You might need to add a little more icing sugar but let it whip up before adding any in so you can see how thick it is.
How do you decorate a gin cake?
As this easy gin and tonic cake has so much falvour from the drizzle you can keep the decoration simple like I have or you can go wild and add your favourite sprinkles and even white chocolate!
I kept this gin cake decortion simple with just a few blobs of buttercream, fresh lemon and fresh sprigs of thyme. The smell of the lemon and thyme were beautiful and really made your mouth water as you sliced the cake.
The addition of fresh thyme adds a lovely green spirg to the cake which works so beautifully with the lemon and cream coloured buttercream.
Other Recipes you might like
These would be great addition to your Coronation party along with my King Charles Coronation Cake.
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Recipe
Easy Gin Cake – Gin and Tonic Drizzle Cake
Equipment
- Spoon
- Sieve
Ingredients
Cake
- 300 grams unsalted butter
- 300 grams golden caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 300 grams self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 lemons
- sprigs fresh thyme
- 3-4 tablespoons milk (optional)
Limoncello drizzle
- 4 tablespoons lemon curd
- 3 tablespoons limoncello
- 2 tablespoons gin
Buttercream
- 300 grams unsalted butter
- 700 grams icing sugar / confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- purple colour paste
Decorations
- slices of lemon
- sprigs of fresh thyme
Instructions
Making the Cake
- Grease and line two six inch cake tins.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160º fan.
- Cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs one at a time.
- Sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix together.
- Zest of the two lemons and mix it into the cake mix.
- Take a few sprigs of fresh thyme and finely chop it in to the mix. Stir together.
- If the mixture is very thick add a little of the milk at a time to make it smoother.
- Divide the cake between the two tins and bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden brown and when a cake tester comes out it’s done. Leave to cool for 30mins and then remove to a cooling wrack until cold.
Making the buttercream
- In a stand mixer beat the butter gradually adding the icing sugar and the milk until light and fluffy and well incorporated.
- If you want beautifully white buttercream add a tiny amount of purple food colouring paste. The purple will neutralise the yellow tint of the buttercream. Be careful to add a tiny amount at a time otherwise it will go purple.
- Add a large round nozzle to a pipping bag and fill it up with the buttercream.
Making the drizzle
- Add the limoncello and gin into a saucepan and on a low heat mix together until it starts to thicken. Remove from the heat and set aside until ready (it should still be warm).
Combining the components
- Level off the cakes and cut them in two horizontally into two equal pieces. So you have 4 layers altogether.
- On a cake plate or turn table start assembling the layers. Add the first layer and gently spoon on a tablespoon of drizzle over the cake and allow it to soak in.
- Divide the cake up by pipping a blob of buttercream into quarters and add three blobs in-between them. Fill in the central space with buttercream so the cake will stack level.
- Repeat with the other layers.
- When you reach the top layer only pipe the blobs around the outside.
- Decorate the top with slices of lemon and fresh sprigs of thyme.
Video
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Originally published July 2018. Updated May 2022
Wow, what an incredible flavour for a cake. So light and fresh. Perfect for a summer party.
Thank you so much Dannii, that means so much coming from you x
WOW!! What a gorgeous cake! Looks perfect for summer can’t wait to try it!
This looks amazing – those flavors are incredible – and I can’t believe I never knew you can freeze buttercream! That is super helpful because I’m always trying to make enough to generously frost a cake, and not too much because I don’t want to waste it. Being able to freeze extra is excellent!
Holey moley, you had me at the picture. Then I read the name and the recipe. This cake is awesome!
What a creative idea! I love a good gin cocktail, so I’m so excited to try this!
Sorry if I’m not seeing it but where is the 3-4 tblspn if milk added to the cake mixture?
Hi Chrissy, thank you so much for notifying me of this. The milk is to be added if the mixture is too thick and is the last step before adding it to the cake tins. I will amend the recipe now. Many thanks again. Sisley