Botanical Lemon & Gin Drizzle Cake

Serves 12

Ingredients:

• 200g butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 lemons, zest only (juice is used in syrup and icing)
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp milk
• 200g self-raising flour, sieved
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch of salt

For the Syrup:

• Juice – 1 lemon
• 1tbsp golden caster sugar
• 1 sprig thyme, leaves only
• 25ml gin

For the Decoration:

• 150g icing sugar
• Juice – 1 lemon
• 25ml Gin
• Thyme leaves or lemon zest

Method

Grease and line a 2lb Aga loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, beat in the lemon zest and thyme leaves until combined.

Gradually add the beaten eggs a little at a time and beat until uniformly mixed. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt and fold into the cake mixture. Add the milk, stir, and pour the batter into the loaf tin and tap to pop air bubbles.

2, 3, 4 and 5 oven AGA: Place in baking oven on grid shelf on oven floor, for approximately 50-60 minutes until golden and skewer comes out clean. Check at 30 minutes and place cold plain shelf above if it is browning too quickly

Conventional: Cook in preheated oven 180oC /170OC fan/gas mark 4, for approximately 40-45 minutes until golden brown and skewer comes out clean

While the cake is cooking; prepare the syrup by mixing all ingredients together. Once the cake comes out of the oven, use a skewer to make holes in the top of the cake and pour over the syrup and allow to soak in as it cools

To make the icing; mix together icing sugar, juice of 1 lemon and the gin to form a thick coating icing. Once the cake has fully cooled, turn out on a baking tray and pour icing liberally over the top, decorate with thyme leaves and/or lemon zest and allow to set.