| by Bel | 4.04pm NZ time |

UPDATE: Download the lemon gin & tonic cake recipe (1 page PDF 100KB via google docs) thoughtfully scanned by my colleague!

When life gives you lemons, make a G&T ... cake!!

To clarify, I have never actually made this cake, but I did eat a chunk of it for morning tea today:

It was delicious.

Here is an approximation of the recipe that I found on Google, which the lady in my office says is pretty much the same as the one she used:

Ingredients

Cake
200g Butter
1 1/2 cups Chelsea White Sugar
Zest of 2 Lemons
4 x Eggs
3 cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Milk (at room temperature)

Topping
1/2 cup Chelsea Caster Sugar
Juice of 2 Lemons
6 Tbsp gin

Method

Cake
Preheat the oven to 160ºC (fan-bake). Prepare a 24cm loose-bottomed cake tin by lining the base with baking paper, brushing the sides with butter and dredging lightly with flour.

To make the cake, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time.Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together, and fold carefully into the egg mixture.

Add the milk and stir in gently. Pile the mixture into the prepared cake tin.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until the cake shrinks from the sides of the tin. This can also be made in 6 small loaf tins which would be baked for about 25 minutes.

Topping
While the cake is cooking, prepare the topping and the decoration. To make the topping, stir the caster sugar, lemon juice and gin together.When the cake is removed from the oven, pour topping mixture over the hot cake. Using a brulee torch, gently scortch the top of the cake.

From the Chelsea Sugar website.

Just to be specific, here are the instructions I got from the chef in my office:
The one I made was 2 cakes and then you iced it with white choc butter icing
CRAFTY LADY!!

I was confused initially as that recipe only mentions booze in the topping, and I was sure that the cake itself as soaking in ginly goodness, but apparently the topping makes its way down through the body of the cake, infusing flavour throughout.

| by Lou | 5.40pm UK time |

"Whoa I got on train & the guy next to me was spoken to by his friends in several diff languages & I don't think any of them were English as no-one seemed to say 'haha you're wearing pink trousers' (he was) & overall I felt like between us we were more Germanly gay than them & maybe they were french. Yuck."

| Posted by Bel | The time is 12.11pm here in Wellington NZ |


As seen on TV. By which I mean, on Craft is the New Black and Boganette.

What: The Feminazi Boner-Killers Drinks

When: 4pm, Wednesday 9 February 2011 (tonight!_

Where: The Apartment, Blallen St

Who: Any Wellington feminsty bloggy types

Why: Because we are awesome, and we need a drink.

I don't want to overexcite you, but both Lou and I will be there. In person. Signing autographs and giving away merchandise.

| Posted by Lou | The time is 9.30pm here in London UK |

I will never learn to stop at 2 or 3, to have a glass of water between wines, and to make sure to eat something before it's too late.

Posted by Bel. The time is 5.01pm here in Wellington NZ

1. Get a punchbowl. We use our glass mixing bowl.
2. Buy 2 litres of rum. Go hard and get something actually from Cuba, like Havana Club.
3. Don't bother with sugar syrup, just use lemonade. Nothing too sweet though, the old classic Schweppes Dry is good, and I really like their Soda with a Twist of Lemon too. You need a couple of bottles of mixer for each bottle of spirits, depending on how bad you hate your own liver.
4. Fresh ingredients are important! Lots of lovely slices of lemon and muddle a big pile of mint leaves, Sally Draper style. Lime is great too, but can be outrageously expensive. Non-concentrate lime juice can be an effective alternative if you go to a snazzy supermarket.
5. Put it all in the bowl.
6. Enjoy!
7. Extra for experts: keep a teatowel nearby because there is no way to pour punch without the glasses getting all drippy and sticky, especially as the night goes on.

Posted by Bel. The time is 10.34am here Wellington NZ.

Nothing like a delicious refreshing drink - and the cherry on top (paper umbrella on top?) could now be knowing that your glassware is eco-friendly as well as chic.

"Jelloware" has just been a prize winner in the annual Jell-O mold competition (apparently it's a big deal in the design world. Go figure!).

The cups are made from agar, which is a vegetarian gelatin substitute, created from a seaweed extract. They are even cast in different flavours, to complement the tastes of your summer cocktails. And yes, the natural constitution of this product means that you can happily litter after your picnic (Draper family style... yes? anyone?), nourishing the soil as it quickly biodegrades!

The brains behind this brilliant concept are a design consultancy called The Way We See The World.

Judging from this photo, they believe in pairing the drinks with cute frocks.

Cheers to that, I say!

(Lou, this was written with you in mind. It is raining and foggy here today. I want a milo not a cocktail.)

[via If It's Hip, It's Here]