isithalal.food

Halal-conscious recipe

Lime and tonic cake without gin

Elena Silcock's two-layer lime sponge soaked in a tonic, juniper and lime syrup and covered in lime buttercream, made with tonic water in place of the gin in the sponge and syrup.

  • Cuisine British
  • Meal Dessert
  • Difficulty Moderate
  • Yield 1 two-layer 20 cm cake
  • Time 2h 15m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
A chocolate layer cake with a chocolate drip on a cake stand
Photograph from our ingredient library: a chocolate layer cake, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Why Halal checks matter here

The published cake mixes 50 ml of gin into the sponge and stirs another 25 ml, uncooked, into the syrup that soaks it.

This is a two-layer lime sponge soaked in a sharp syrup of tonic water, lime juice and crushed juniper, then covered in lime buttercream. The source puts gin in twice: 50 ml in the sponge batter and the rest stirred into the syrup after it comes off the heat, so that part is never cooked. Gin is an intoxicating spirit, so here the batter takes 50 ml more tonic water and the syrup is made without it. Those swaps are ours.

It follows Elena Silcock's gin and tonic cake for BBC Good Food. Gin is a juniper-flavoured spirit, and the crushed juniper berries in the syrup stay in, so the cake keeps that flavour without the alcohol; the yogurt in the batter is plain natural yogurt.

The original decorations also include lemon sherbet sweets and party straws. If you add bought sweets, read the label for gelatine and colours such as carmine, the same checks the cakes page sets out for bought cakes.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Gin The published cake adds 50 ml of gin to the sponge batter and stirs 25 ml more into the syrup after it comes off the heat, so that gin is never cooked. Gin is an intoxicating spirit, and every intoxicant is khamr; this site counts alcohol cooked into food the same way. Use 50 ml more tonic water in the sponge and leave the gin out of the syrup, as here. See Gin.

Safe substitutes

  • 50 ml gin in the sponge → 50 ml tonic water (our swap)
  • 25 ml gin in the syrup → Leave it out (our swap)

Allergens

milk, egg, gluten (flour)

Ingredients

Sponge

  • 250 g salted butter
  • 200 g golden caster sugar (of 325 g in all)
  • 4 eggs
  • 250 g self-raising flour
  • 75 g natural yogurt
  • 1 large lime, juice only
  • 50 ml tonic water (our swap for 50 ml gin)

Syrup

  • 125 g golden caster sugar (the rest of the 325 g)
  • 150 ml tonic water
  • 1 tsp juniper berries, lightly crushed
  • 1 large lime, juice only

Buttercream and decoration

  • 200 g softened butter
  • 400 g icing sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 3 limes zest of the 2 juiced limes plus 1 more
  • 2 limes: 1 zested, 1 zested and cut into thin wedges
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • ¼ cucumber, peeled into ribbons

Method

  1. Make the sponge. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4) and grease and line two 20 cm cake tins. Beat the butter and 200 g of the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating each in fully; if the mixture looks like splitting, add a tablespoon of the flour, then fold in the rest of the flour.
  2. Bake. Mix the yogurt with the juice of one lime and the 50 ml of tonic water, then add it to the cake mixture to make a thick, silky batter. The source uses 50 ml of gin here; this version uses tonic water. Divide between the tins and bake for 35 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.
  3. Make the syrup. Meanwhile, put the remaining sugar, the 150 ml of tonic water, the juniper berries and the juice of the second lime in a saucepan over a medium heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, boil for 5 to 7 minutes until thick. Cool for 5 minutes, then strain. The source pours the rest of the gin into the syrup at this point; this version leaves it out.
  4. Soak the cakes. Leave the cakes to cool in their tins for 5 minutes, prick them all over with a skewer and spoon the syrup generously over both. Leave to cool completely in the tins.
  5. Make the buttercream. Beat the butter until soft, then add the icing sugar a little at a time. Once it is all mixed in, add the milk and the zest of the three limes.
  6. Assemble and decorate. Set one cake on a board, cover with a third of the buttercream and sit the second cake on top. Cover the whole cake in a thin coat of buttercream and chill for 30 minutes to firm up, then spread the rest over the top and sides. Mix the remaining lime zest with the granulated sugar, sprinkle it over, and finish with the lime wedges and cucumber ribbons.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Gin & tonic cake' by Elena Silcock (serves 15: oven at 180°C (160°C fan, gas 4), two 20 cm tins greased and lined; 250 g salted butter and 200 g of 325 g golden caster sugar beaten for about 5 minutes, 4 eggs added one by one, 250 g self-raising flour folded in; 75 g natural yogurt mixed with the juice of 1 large lime and 50 ml of 75 ml gin added; baked 35 minutes; syrup of the remaining sugar, 150 ml tonic water, 1 tsp lightly crushed juniper berries and the juice of the second lime, dissolved then boiled 5 to 7 minutes until thick, cooled 5 minutes, strained and the remaining gin poured in; the cakes rested 5 minutes, pricked all over and soaked in the syrup, then cooled in the tins; buttercream of 200 g softened butter, 400 g icing sugar, 2 tbsp milk and the zest of 3 limes; one layer covered with a third of the buttercream, the second set on top, a thin coat all over, chilled 30 minutes, then the rest spread over the top and sides; decorated with lime zest mixed with 1 tbsp granulated sugar, lemon sherbets, lime slices, cucumber ribbons and party straws). We replaced the 50 ml of gin in the sponge with 50 ml more tonic water and left the gin out of the syrup; those swaps are ours. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Gin & tonic cake — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Elena Silcock. Serves 15, prep 1 hour, cook 45 minutes: a two-layer lime and yogurt sponge with 50 ml gin, baked 35 minutes at 180°C, soaked in a tonic, juniper and lime syrup finished with the remaining gin, and covered in lime buttercream. We used tonic water for the gin in the sponge and left it out of the syrup.

  2. Gin analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    Why gin is Haram, including in food.

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