Recipe Bittersweet Gin Cake

[Hemulen]

Oh my! I hope epicuric got the measurements correct.

^ That's what concerns me too. I hope epicuric didn't pour half a liter of gin (the amount is 0,5 dl = 50 ml; one fourth of a small drinking glass). As I told, the dough is moist and fruity (mushy) to start with, so excess gin would produce a sticky porridge ( - which wouldn't affect the scent or taste, I hope). I'm eager to hear what happened.

Here's what's left of the trailblazer; the one that cooked ~35 min in 200°C before my recipe photoshoot and ~an hour in the afterheat with the oven turned off (due to concert hustle):

 

[epicuric]

Oh my! I hope epicuric got the measurements correct.

I've just calculated that, based on a litre bottle of gin yielding seven gin & tonics, my daily sundowner contains 143ml of gin - almost three time Hemulen's definition of a large measure. Might explain a few things.

Anyway, back to the cake. It cooked for 60 mins, but was still not set. I had to go out, so left in in the (turned off) oven for another hour and a half. The outside was darker than I expected, but I think that was my inexperience in over-buttering the tin. When it came out, it was still not quite set, but I think this was down to too much orange puree. Hemulen, what proportion of puree to the rest of the mix do you use? Mine was about 50:50 - I think my oranges were bigger. The taste is divine, my wife loves it. I will try it again for Christmas, with adjusted quantities.

 

[epicuric]

^ That's what concerns me too. I hope epicuric didn't pour half a liter of gin (the amount is 0,5 dl = 50 ml; one fourth of a small drinking glass). As I told, the dough is moist and fruity (mushy) to start with, so excess gin would produce a sticky porridge ( - which wouldn't affect the scent or taste, I hope). I'm eager to hear what happened.

Here's what's left of the trailblazer; the one that cooked ~35 min in 200°C before my recipe photoshoot and ~an hour in the afterheat with the oven turned off (due to concert hustle):
View attachment 48447

Yours looks much better - mine sank a little. No, I didn't overdo the gin (hic). Another question - 200 deg C seemed a little hot. I assumed this was a convention oven temp, mine is a fan oven so I reduced it to 180 deg C. Would this be correct?

 

[Hemulen]

Yours looks much better - mine sank a little. No, I didn't overdo the gin (hic). Another question - 200 deg C seemed a little hot. I assumed this was a convention oven temp, mine is a fan oven so I reduced it to 180 deg C. Would this be correct?

Yours looks yammy. This was a first try anyway - a pioneer recipe with unpeeled citrus fruit (for me, that is). Who cares if there's a little jam on the bottom. It's the taste that counts, isn't it?

200 deg is on the upper side (I usually bake my cakes in 150-175) but I was in a rush so I adjusted the temperature for this entry. Sorry. It was a convention temp; I didn't use the fan this time. 150 deg for ~two hours might do the trick.

I hope you noticed that there's only one orange in the recipe - the rest are tiny mandarins. I'd say that the puree was still about 40-50% of the dough. I made adjustments (edit) regarding the amount of flour (0,5-1 dl or 50-100 ml more flour). An extra egg and a little more cinnamon and vanilla might not be a bad idea either.

I think I'll make an adjusted version for Christmas by adding flour and changing the gin into dark rum (there's a good third of a small bottle in the pantry). I might use just 2-3 oranges instead of the citrus mix, too. This entry was steered by my leathery mandarins which yelled on the table: "Use us!".

 

[epicuric]

Yours looks yammy. This was a first try anyway - a pioneer recipe with unpeeled citrus fruit (for me, that is). Who cares if there's a little jam on the bottom. It's the taste that counts, isn't it?

200 deg is on the upper side (I usually bake my cakes in 150-175) but I was in a rush so I adjusted the temperature for this entry. Sorry. It was a convention temp; I didn't use the fan this time. 150 deg for ~two hours might do the trick.

I hope you noticed that there's only one orange in the recipe - the rest are tiny mandarins. I'd say that the puree was still about 40-50% of the dough. I made adjustments (edit) regarding the amount of flour (0,5-1 dl or 50-100 ml more flour). An extra egg and a little more cinnamon and vanilla might not be a bad idea either.

I think I'll make an adjusted version for Christmas by adding flour and changing the gin into dark rum (there's a good third of a small bottle in the pantry). I might use just 2-3 oranges instead of the citrus mix, too. This entry was steered by my leathery mandarins which yelled on the table: "Use us!".

For a first attempt I'm secretly rather chuffed. Thanks for the recipe Hemulen