Gin tasting Menu? Yes please!

Alright all you Gin drinking Londoners have I got a story for you. A friend of mine is a member of the London Gin Club and for our monthly covenant meeting (girls night out) we went to The Star at Night Bar in Soho to partake in a Gin tasting menu. 

We opted for tasting menu one which consisted of the following:

Edinburgh Gin: Blackberry
Sloanes: Grapefruit Peel
Plymouth: Lime
Hayman's Sloe: Raspberry


This will set you back £21 each or £19 as a member. I recommend tasting in this order: Lime first, then the Raspberry, then the Grapefruit and last but not least the Blackberry. This means you mix it up with the sour/bitter, then the sweet. You are presented with two huge balloon glasses with large shards of ice in it, and 4 small square plates with a small bottle of Gin and a piece of fruit to accompany it. 

Directions:

Pour the Gin over the ice first, then add the fruit, then top up with Indian Tonic (they supply Fever Tree Indian Tonic - arguably the worlds best) in which you can have as many of these as you need.

Best For: Take a date, Couples time, take your friends.

Bonus tip:

If you not keen on a full tasting experience, please please please, have a Sip Smith G & T, this is the smoothest Gin I have ever tasted. It is the first copper pot distillery to open in London in nearly 200 years, and the Gin is 
triple distilled. Top dog.

The Details:

London Gin Club:  www.thelondonginclub.com

The Star at Night: 22, Great Chapel Stree, Soho, London, W1F 8FR

+44 (0) 207 494 2488 - www.thestaratnight.com

Sip Smith Gin - http://www.sipsmith.com/

Pina Colada Cake

If you like Pina Colada's da duh da da and getting caught in the rain ... come on I know you were thinking it! But yes it is possible to make a cake taste like a tropical cocktail, and it is the most luscious cake you will ever eat!

I first tried Pina Colada cake at a cafe 9 years ago, and they wouldn't let me have the recipe (*cough* Jay), so I have spent all these years trying to recreate that taste memory via trial and error and have finally cracked it. I like making it in a loaf tin, as it is easy to slice and serve. Make sure that you make it in either a loaf or a ring tin as this is a very moist cake.

Pina Colada Cake

Cake Mix

150g butter softened, plus a little extra for greasing.
150g (2/3 cup) caster sugar
2/3 cup crushed pineapple (drained)
1/2 vanilla pod (or a couple drops of vanilla extract)
2 medium eggs at room temperature
150g (1 cup) plain flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp of Malibu or Dark Rum (or 1tsp rum essence if you don't want to use alcohol!)

Frosting

230g of cream cheese
50g butter softened
3-4 cups of icing sugar
1 tsp of Dark Rum
Couple of drops of Rum essense
Desiccated coconut for dusting on top

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees (fan 160 degrees). Grease and line the loaf tin with baking parchment.

2. Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl with a hand held electric whisk or a free-standing electric mixer until light and fluffy. Split open the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds and add them (or the extract) along with the Malibu or dark rum with the 2 eggs and beat again. Keep beating until the mixture starts to come right.

3. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir in the crushed pineapple. Tip the mix into the loaf tin. Spread the mixture flat with the back of the spoon and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the skewer comes out clean. The mix is quite wet, so depending on your oven it may take a little longer. Take out of the oven and leave to cool.

4. To make the icing, Beat together softened butter and cream cheese for around 2 minutes until smooth. Add the dark rum (optional) and add the icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time until the desired consistency. Spread over the cake, and sprinkle desiccated coconut over the top. I piped mine over, but you can ice whichever way you please. Slice into 12 and serve. Lush!

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Two cheese and thyme scones

Savoury scones remind me of New Zealand cafes, ordering one fresh from the oven, and lathering it in butter. Surprisingly scones are very quick and easy to make, and you can use a variety of ingredients you have lying around in the kitchen. Experiment with different flavours, my two cheese and thyme scone was born on a lazy Sunday morning, with little options for a mid morning snack. Enjoy! 

Makes approximately 12

Two cheese thyme scones

2 cups of flour
pinch of salt
60g butter
50g feta chopped into small cubes
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
30g cheddar cheese, grated
150ml of milk

1. Preheat oven 220C (200C in a fan)

2. Mix the flour and salt, and rub in the butter

3. Stir in the two cheeses and thyme and milk, then mix into a soft dough.

4. Place onto a floured surface and knead lightly. Pat out the dough until 2cm thick, and use a 5cm cutter to stamp out your scones. Lightly knead the rest of it together, and repeat the above process until all the dough is used up.

5. Brush the top of the scones with milk. Bake for 12-15min until golden. Cool on wire rack. 

If you can't wait like me, grab one straight out of the oven and spread with butter! 

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