lychee martini (rum) cake

Was surfing the other day and came across this wonderful food blog by Pastrygirl called Dessert First. The post on For love of Lychees caught my eye and guess what? It's about lychee butter cake... oooh. Now, I love lychees, especially the luo mi chi, which is the special type with plump juicy sweet meat and puny little seeds. But I never knew that you can make lychee cake! Of course I have to try it, and what's the best thing to go with lychee? Lychee martini, of course. So, here's my attempt in marrying the two together.


Lychee Martini Cake by me! ;-)

1 Lychee butter cake (see below)
300ml cream whipped with 3 tbsp lychee liquid + 1 tbsp rum
Lychee liquid

Slice top of cake to flatten it and slice cake into half vertically. (I wanted a taller cake)
Brush lychee liquid over both cake halves.
Spread thin layer of cream sandwiched between two cake halves
Apply crumb coat. Put in freezer for 15minutes for crumb coat to dry.
Frost cake and decorate with lychee halves.

Cake turned out yummy with flowery scent and sweetness of lychee. However, I overbaked it slightly and hence had to apply syrup to "salvage it". Thank goodness it turned out to be a good idea cos it improved on the lychee flavour of the cake. Will probably add more liquor next time.

Lychee Butter Cake (from Dessert First)

1- 14 oz can lychees (about 1 cup lychees, reserve the liquid)
2 cups (240g) flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (160g) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (160 g) sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8x8 baking pan.

Drain the lychees and cut into small pieces; set aside. Toss the lychee pieces in the flour mixture to coat (this will help keep them from sinking to the bottom of the batter).

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed for several minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla. Mix to combine.

Add in about 4 -6 tablespoons of the reserved lychee liquid slowly. Mix between additions to fully incorporate before adding more.

Add flour and lychee mixture to the batter and mix to combine. (do not overmix)

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes, until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack before serving.