Baking for Beginners: Mojito Cake

We sluts love a cocktail, and this New Year's Eve I was indulging in the boozy goodness of Sara's fabulous Bakewell Tartini. This got me thinking (not immediately you understand, at the time I was enjoying myself far too much to be doing anything vaguely cerebral). If you can make a cake into a cocktail, why not make a cocktail into a cake?

And so the Mojito Cake was born. It's based on a classic lemon cake, with lime replacing the lemon and lashings of extra rum. The icing is a lime and mint buttercream and the sponge is soaked with boozy sugar syrup for extra moistness.

If you'd rather use mint extract in the buttercream, go ahead. I just used Trebor mints due to a baking emergency involving a last minute dash to the corner shop.

Mojito Cake (serves lots, and once you've licked the bowl you won't care!)

You'll need:

For the cake

• 125g butter, at room temperature
• 175g caster sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 65ml rum
• Zest of two limes (keep the juice for the syrup)
• 175g self raising flour
• 1tsp baking powder

For the syrup

• 100ml water
• 100ml sugar
• 3tbsp rum
• Juice of two limes

For the icing

• 100g butter
• 150g icing sugar
• Juice of one lime
• Some Trebor Xtra Strong mints

Make it!

• Pre-heat the oven to 170c / Gas 3. Line a 20cm cake tin.
• Beat together the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
• Lightly stir together the eggs and rum, then gradually add to the butter mixture, beating well to combine between each addition.
• Fold in the lime zest, flour and baking powder.
• Pour the mixture into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cooked the whole way through.

While the cake is baking, make the syrup.

• Mix together the sugar and water over a low heat, until the sugar dissolves.
• Bring to the boil and boil for 5 minutes.
• Leave to cool.
• Once cool, stir in the rum and lime juice.

Once the cake has cooked, remove from the oven and let cool. Meanwhile, make the icing.

• Beat together the butter and icing sugar.
• Add the lime juice little by little, until you get a nice spreading consistency.
• Blitz the mints in a food processor (or in a saucepan with a rolling pin, if you're in need of anger management) and stir through the frosting. Add a little at a time to your taste, I used three but that was pretty minty.

Once the cake has cooled you can assemble your creation!

• With a skewer or fork, prick the cake all over. Paint the top with the rum and lime syrup, or spoon it over carefully.
• Spread the icing over the top and decorate with wafer thin lime slices and/or fresh mint leaves.