The Margarita is a cocktail consisting of Tequila, triple sec such as Cointreau and lime or lemon juice, often served with salt on the rim of the glass. It is the most common tequila-based cocktail in the United States. The drink is served shaken with ice on the rocks, blended with ice (frozen margarita), or without ice (straight up).  The first known publication of a margarita recipe was in the December 1953 issue of Esquire, with a recipe calling for an ounce of tequila, a dash of triple sec and the juice of half a lime or lemon.

There are many stories regarding the origin of a Margarita Cocktail, sometimes named after a lady named Margarita or invented by a lady of the same name. It is also the Spanish name for a drink called Tequila Daisy, Margarita being Daisy in Spanish.

I am a cocktail kind of girl. Maybe the sweetness of the chilled alcoholic beverage is what appeals to me. Wine I find sour, Beer I find bitter and of course Whiskey takes bitterness to another level for me, I’m unashamed to say. I’ve tasted most of the sweet flavoured cocktails and I love most of them.

In my throes of culinary inventiveness, I dreamed up my series of cakes tasting like my favourite cocktails. Developing the recipes, I realised that all the goodness of fresh fruit, dried fruit and herbs was being used to flavour my cakes. So, in fact they are nutritious cakes.  To add the alcohol or not is an option. I’ve kept the base cake recipe the same, adding flavourings and alcohol according to the cocktail I was being inspired by.

My post on the series of cocktail flavoured cakes can be read on Cocktail in a Cake.

Margarita Cocktail Cake

Ingredients ~

100 gms soft butter
100 gms caster sugar
110 gms flour
¼ tsp baking powder
3 eggs
2 tbsp finely chopped kaffir lime leaves
¼ cup Tequila
2 lemons, juice
3 tbsp icing sugar

Method ~

1. Beat the butter and caster sugar till pale and double in volume.
2. Add one egg at a time, beating into the batter till well incorporated.
3. To the batter add the finely chopped kaffir lime leaves.
4. Gently stir in the tequila.
5. Sift the flour and baking powder and fold into the batter.
6. Pour the batter into a greased and floured baking tin.
7. Bake at 160*C for 25-30 minutes or till done.
8. Drench the warm cake with the mixture of lemon juice and icing sugar.