Cake comes in all shapes and sizes and this gorgeous Gin and Lemon Traybake is so easy to make and works so well for gifts, parties or even adult lunch boxes. Who doesn’t like a secret gin and tonic in their slice of cake.
I love traybakes and this recipe is one of my favourites now. It is used so often for quick bakes or when the family is coming over and there needs to be cake. I have also taken this on picnics before I put the cake back in the tin, making it really easy to transport.
Gin and tonic traybake
Gin and tonic is a wonderful flavour and it works so well in a traybake. The gin and tonic traybake gives a beautiful drizzle flavour gives a delicious result. The soft sponge absorbs the drizzle so you get the lemon and gin flavour throughout the cake.
There is a beauty to cake and this lemon cake with a gin and lemon curd centre is definitely one of my favourites.
To create the gin and lemon centre I used the fat end of a metal nozzle and cut out small holes to about half way down. Keep the tops to pop back in once you’ve added the gin and lemon curd mix.
I love the secret centre of these cakes and their lemon gin and tonic gooeyness. Lemon curd works so well mixed with gin and used as a filling. Once you’ve tried it you will want it time and time again!
All boxed up and ready to go to the party. I love small portions and indivudally wrapped goodies like this. For these gin and lemon traybake slices I cut them up to fit into some cute square cake cases. I topped them with buttercream and put a lovely fresh lemon slice on top. If I had thought it through a little bit more I would have made some dried lemon slices which would have looked gorgeous too.
Baking with Gin
Gin is a hugely versatile ingredient to use for baking. Baking with gin can take so many forms. Use it as a drizzle like this gin and tonic traybake. Or if you have flavoured gin you can use it to replace vanilla extract. Gin can work so well as a flavour and drizzle but you can also soften strawberries in gin to make a jam for a filling. Similar to the prosecco and strawberry filling I did for this bundt cake.
Strawberry Prosecco Cake
Drizzle cake recipes ideas
There are so many flavours you can use for drizzle cake. As well as a gin and tonic traybake, you can also do rum and mint to make a mojito traybake. Add some malibu and pineapple and make it a tropical traybake. Or my favourite a Pimm’s traybake. Super delicious and fruity. Cocktail traybakes are definitely a favourite of mine.
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Gin and Lemon Traybake – Recipe time!
Gin and lemon traybake
Ingredients
Cake
- 300 grams unsalted butter
- 300 grams golden caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 300 grams self-raising flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 lemons
- 3-4 tablespoons milk
Gin and tonic centres
- 50 ml Whitley gin
- 1 tablespoon lemon curd
- 25 ml tonic water
Butter Cream
- 300 grams unsalted butter
- 700 grams icing sugar / confectioners sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- purple colour paste
Instructions
Cake
- Grease and line a 9 x 12 inch cake tin with grease proof paper.
- Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160º fan.
- Cream together the butter and sugar. You can do this entirely in a mixer or by hand.
- Add the eggs one at a time.
- Sieve in the flour and baking powder and mix together.
- Zest the two lemons and mix it into the cake mix along with the juice from 1 lemon.
- Spoon the cake into the tin and bake for about 45 minutes – 1 hour., until golden brown and when a cake tester comes out it’s done. Leave to cool for 30mins and then remove from the tin and place on a wire wrack.
Gin and Lemon Centres
- Add the gin, tonic and lemon curd 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).
- When the cake is cold divide up in to squares.
- Using a metal nozzle of a knife carefully cut a 1 cm hold in the centre of each cake and move the hole piece and keep it to the side.
- Spoon the gin and lemon curd mix into the holes almost up to the top and pop the cake top pieces back in.
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.
- Depending on how you want to decorate the finished cakes choose a different nozzle. I added dried lemon slices to the cakes so I used a large round nozzle to a pipping bag and fill it up with the buttercream.
- Pipe a blob or beautiful swirl of buttercream on the cakes and decorate. I used fresh lemon slices but sprinkles work so well too!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition information provided above is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Other traybakes you might enjoy
Blueberry Cookie Traybake
Mini Egg Cookie Bars – easy mini egg cookie traybake
Raspberry White Chocolate Cookie Traybake
Love that the filling is piped in and then the cake “lid” put back on and the way you’ve decorated and served them in pieces looks fabulous! Plus who wouldn’t want lemon and gin cake?!
It works so well. A delicious cake and no one expects the lemon middle
These Gin and Lemon Traybake cakes look wonderful. I love how you have presented them, they are so cute!
thank you Janice. I collect little boxes and wrappers wherever I go. It seems like they were meant to be used for this.
After I saw these on instagram I knew I needed the recipe!!! I’m not going to lie you had me at gin and lemon but the cute bite size portions are perfect for parties too.
Aww you’re so sweet! It is a simple recipe but a winner