Tasty Tuesday – Gin and Tonic Cupcakes

Yes, really Gin & Tonic Cupcakes!!

I made these for my parent’s joint 60th birthday party that we celebrated Hawaiian style!

I posted the menu last week and this was the recipe I most wanted to share.

I saw a gin and tonic cake on one of my favorite food bloggers and knew I must make something like it ASAP for my dad. Since the birthday party was coming up it seemed almost TOO perfect!

I was nervous how these would go over but people LOVED them! They are pretty citrusey. I felt like you could taste the gin but it wasn’t super strong.

As with most baked goods with alcohol, the taste isn’t super strong, which is nice and crowd pleasing for the general population. I had someone eat one who didn’t think she would like a gin & tonic but still really liked these cupcakes (and said it tasted like fruity pebbles? weird.)

This is a combination of a citrusey, moist cupcake with a powdered sugar/gin glaze, then topped with a gin & tonic buttercream.

If these sound good to you, please – make and eat up!

They seem complicated but they were a breeze to whip up. The hardest and most annoying thing (in my opinion) is zesting the lime. It’s the worst. And am I the only one who ends up zesting her finger every.single.time? My most recent slice just healed.

Gin & Tonic Cupcakes

Cupcake and Glaze from How Sweet Eats; Frosting adapted form Joy The Baker

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly zested lime rind (about 2-3 limes)
• 1/4 cup gin
• 1/4 cup milk
• juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Line 2 12 inch cupcake pans with 24 paper liners. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, beat butter. Add in sugar and beat on medium high speed for about 5 ish minutes or until fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition.
4. Add in vanilla and lime zest and mix.
5. Measure out gin, milk and lime juice in a bowl or a measuring cup. Set aside.
6. With mixer on low, add in half of the dry ingredients and mix until no flour streaks remain. Add in gin/milk/lime juice combo. Slowly mix in the remaining half of the dry ingredients until just combined.
7. Use 1/3 c. measuring cup and scoop out cupcake batter into your pan. Bake for about 18-22 minutes or until skewer comes out clean or with dry crumbs on it. Using skewer, poke holes all over cupcakes. Let cool for a minute and make glaze.

Gin Glaze

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
• 5 tablespoons gin
• the juice of 1 lime

Directions:

1. Stir together powdered sugar, gin and lime.
2. Pour or brush over cupcakes. You can do this while they’re still cooling in the pan or on a cooling rack with parchment paper or foil underneath to catch the drips.

Gin & Tonic Buttercream

Ingredients:

• 10 tablespoons salted butter, softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons gin
• 2 tablespoons tonic
• lime zest, optional, for garnish

Directions:

1. Beat butter well. Sift in powdered sugar and beat in very well. Stream in gin and tonic and beat for minutes until light and fluffy.
2. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with lime zest.