Blackberry Gin and Lemon sponge cake

A truly special cake! This is super easy to make and easily adaptable.

Baking with kids? Simply remove the gin.

Want a different palette? Use blueberry gin and blueberries, raspberry gin and raspberries...

Store this cake in the fridge for ultimate freshness (if it lasts that long!)

INGREDIENTS

160g soft butter

170g golden caster sugar (or caster or granulated sugar, if that's what you have!)

2 medium eggs

150g self-raising flour

20g ground almonds

1/4 tsp baking powder

2 lemon zests

150g blackberries, sliced lengthways in half

20ml blackberry gin

METHOD

Step 1] Preheat oven to 160C fan and line an 8 inch loose-bottomed round cake tin with greaseproof paper (I lined the bottom and then used butter up the sides).

Step 2] In a large bowl mix together the butter and sugar using a wooden spoon.

Step 3] Add the eggs - stir to combine.

Step 4] Add the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, and lemon zest. Also add the gin here now if you are using. Stir to combine - do not overmix!

Step 5] Place your blackberries face down in the tin so that you have a nice layer at the bottom. You can see from my photo that I spread mine out leaving gaps between. Save a few blackberries for decoration!

Step 6] Carefully pour the cake batter over the top of the blackberries, using the back of a spoon to gently spread the mixture, forming an even layer. You want the blackberries to be fully coated.

Step 7] Bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before turning out onto a wired rack.

Step 8] Decorate as desired! I made up purple icing using icing sugar, a splash of gin, and purple food colouring, then drizzled this over the top of the cake. You could then use a small sieve to scatter some icing sugar over the top. The choice is yours!