Pink Gin and Lemonade Cupcakes

Gin! Cupcakes! Need I say more?

Now I'm not much of a drinker, I'm a glass of wine every couple of months type of gal. So when we received a gorgeous bottle of Limehouse Pink Gin from our landlord for Christmas, I was thinking...what the heck am I going to do with this. Thank goodness gin is one of the best alcohols to cook with. When the alcohol taste is baked away, you get some really beautiful floral flavours - the pink gin I used was made with fresh red fruits, and juniper. My only problem is that I'm going to have to make about 150 cupcakes to use it all up...

Why do my cupcakes crack?

If you are like me and struggle to get those perfectly rounded cupcake tops without cracks, let me throw you some tips that helped me. Firstly, the reason they crack is because they have risen too quickly, which means the either that the temperature is too high, or the batter has been over-mixed. If you notice the tops beginning to crack, turn the heat down so they won't split any further. Next, try to resist opening the oven door otherwise they might sink. And lastly, make sure your oven has properly pre-heated as well, so as not to mess up the baking process. Take this knowledge and may you be blessed with perfect cupcakes.

I N G R E D I E N T S

Cupcake

• 125 grams butter

• 1/2 cup of caster sugar

• 2 eggs

• 200 grams of self raising gluten free flour

• 2 Tbsp of pink gin (or any gin)

• 2 Tbsp of lemonade

• 3-5 drops of pink food colouring

Icing

• 2 cups of icing sugar

• 4 tbsp softened/slightly melted butter

• 1 tbsp gin

• Pink sprinkles (optional - please make sure they are gluten free)

M E T H O D

1. Preheat the oven to 160° celsius/bake. Grease a standard muffin tray (with 12 muffin moulds) with butter.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until combined. Then crack in the eggs and whisk until smooth.

3. Sift in the self raising flour and mix with a wooden spoon until combined.

4. Mix in the gin, lemonade and pink food colouring until combined.

5. Spoon the mixture into the muffin trays, filling up to about 3/4 high.

6. Bake in over for about 17-20 minutes. To check if the are cooked through, stick a kebab stick into the middle of a cupcake - if it comes out clean then they are ready! Leave to cool while preparing icing.

7. Beat the icing sugar, butter, gin, and a couple of tsp of water together until you have a pipe-able consistency.

8. Pipe icing onto the cooled cupcakes, decorate with sprinkles and enjoy!