So this just happened in the #brightmansions kitchen… Gincake (with recipe) #365

So this just happened in the #brightmansions kitchen... #gincake #365 @estriel @pollygcs

Gin is good. Cake is good. Friends are good. So what better way to christen the Bright Mansions kitchen than by combining the three? The original recipe came from here, but we tweaked slightly.

Ingredients – for the cake

  • 385g plain flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 230g unsalted butter
  • 350g caster sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons freshly zested lime rind
  • Juice of one lime
  • 60ml gin
  • 60ml tonic water

Ingredients – for the glaze

  • 225g icing sugar
  • 5 tablespoons gin
  • Juice of 1 lime

Ingredients – for the icing

  • 320g icing sugar
  • 2-3 tablespoons gin
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • Zest of a lime or two

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F / Gas Mark 5 / 170-190 C
  2. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until soft, light and pale.
  4. Add one egg at a time, beating each one until fully combined before adding the next.
  5. Add in the lime zest and vanilla.
  6. Add in half of the dry ingredients and mix until fully incorporated.
  7. Mix in the gin, tonic and lime juice, followed by the rest of the dry ingredients.
  8. Pour into your greased/lined tins/cases.
  9. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden and until a knife stuck in the middle comes out clean.
  10. While the cake is baking, mix up the glaze. Mix up the icing sugar with about half the gin and the lime juice. Add more gin until the glaze is very runny. If you need more liquid, add in a bit of tonic water.
  11. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, prick it all over and pour the glaze over the top, allowing it to soak in the cake.
  12. Cool completely.
  13. Mix up your icing, aiming for a very thick consistency. Spread across the top of the cake and cupcakes.
  14. Decorate with a sprinkle of lime zest

Things we learnt

  • The recipe made 1 x loaf cake and 18 x muffin-sized cup cakes.
  • Depending on your oven, and what size cakes you decide to make, the cooking time does vary. The cup cakes were ready at about 30 minutes, the loaf cake took a good 15-20 minutes more as it was much deeper.
  • Sift your icing sugar. No one likes lumpy icing.
  • If you need slightly runnier icing, add a squeeze of lime juice. Do this REALLY cautiously, because it only takes a drop to turn perfect icing into runny goo.
  • This is a really simple recipe, but it does take time. And make sure the cakes are fully cool before icing.

Double Wrapped Leather bracelet with Pandora bead fastening #365

I saw these bracelets here first of all, and they sparked my curiosity and creative nature. A little bit of rummaging around online, and I found a store that supplied most of what I needed.

You’ll need (for a double wrapped bracelet) :

  • 44 inches/112cm of 1.5mm leather cord
  • 12 inches/30cm of brass ball chain or crystal chain
  • 58 inches/150cm of waxed linen cord
  • a 1/4″ brass hex nut – I used a Pandora bead which didn’t work on the rest of my bracelet, and you could use anything of the right size.
  • a pair of scissors

Instructions:

  1. Fold the length of leather cording in half to form a loop. The loop should fit around the hex nut/bead, (whatever serves as the clasp).
  2. Run the tip of the waxed linen upwards along the leather cord and towards the loop. Then wrap around the base of the loop at least 5-6 times, working downwards in the opposite direction. This secures the waxed linen cord and is the start of the bracelet.
  3. Place the ball chain along the leather cording with the end of the chain meeting the end of the wrap. Holding the ball chain against the leather cord, wrap the linen around tightly.
  4. Continue wrapping while checking it for fit around the wrist.
  5. When you have reached the end of the ball chain wrap the linen cording around the leather strands 2-3 more times. Tie a knot with all three strands.
  6. Thread the hex nut/bead through the strands and tie a second knot.
  7. Trim with scissors and your wrap bracelet is finished!!
  8. The materials are listed for a double wrap bracelet. My next step will be a single or triple wrapped bracelet (for these divide the measurements by 2 and multiply by accordingly). If I can find any, I’m also going to try with with crystal and other types of chain.