Week 4 - Cosmo Cake

This week is the first of my cocktail inspired cakes. I'm a big fan of Sex & the City, so I'm starting with Carrie & friends favourite, the Cosmopolitan! I've used a basic sponge mixture as the base & added the key flavours from a classic Cosmo, cranberry, orange & lime. I love the rich colour of a Cosmopolitan cocktail, so I thought I'd try & recreate that in the cake. I must admit I don't normally use any artificial colourings in my baking, but it is Valentines week, so it seems apt to have a red cake! For the frosting I've made a Cointreau butter cream which really helps bring all the flavours together. You can leave the Cointreau out of the recipe if you like, it'll be just as good. I hope you like it...

100g butter
100g caster sugar
100g self raising flour
2 eggs
75g dried cranberries
Juice & grated zest of 1 orange
Juice & grated zest of 1 lime
Few drops of red food colouring (optional)
2 tbsp Cointreau (optional)

For the frosting
140g icing sugar
60g butter
2 tbsp Cointreau (optional)

1. Cream the butter & sugar together in a large bowl, beat in the eggs one at a time to make a smooth batter

2. Mix in the cranberries, Cointreau & the juice & zest of the orange & lime, keeping a little of the orange zest back for the frosting

3. Fold in the flour until it's all combined, then add a few drops of red food colouring until you get to the desired shade of red!

4. Pour the mixture into a greased cake tin & bake at 190c for 30-40 minutes until well risen & the top just starts to crack. Leave to rest in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool

5. To make the frosting, cream together the butter & icing sugar then add the orange zest & Cointreau. If you're not using Cointreau, add milk instead to help make it smooth. Mix well until you end up with a lovely fluffy frosting you can smother over the cake with when cooled

I'm not sure I'd make a red cake again, it feels too un-natural! But I have to say it tastes good, the juices & Cointreau give it a lovely moist texture. There will be more cocktail cakes in the weeks to come. I think I'm going to like this new theme, cocktails without the hangover!

Next week I have a feeling you'll either love or hate the recipe, Rebecca