Gin And Tonic 'Opera' Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and grease and line a 9" round cake tin with wax paper.
• 90 g butter
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan, and leave on one side to cool, it shouldn't solidify.
• 6 eggs
• 175 g caster sugar
• Whisk the eggs and sugar until light and mousse-like.
• 260 g plain flour
• Sift the flour and carefully fold in. Add the cooled melted butter and gently fold into the cake mixture. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for about 15-20 minutes, until well risen and firm to the touch. Cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool completely.
• Ganache
• 500 ml single cream
• 50 g loose leaf Earl Grey tea leaves
• Bring the cream to scalding point and remove the pan from the heat. Add the tea leaves and steep for 5 minutes before straining through a sieve.
• 1 kg white chocolate, chopped
• Melt the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl placed over a pan of simmering water. Whisk the flavoured cream into the melted white chocolate and stir until it takes on a glossy sheen. Let stand while you make the soaking syrup for the cake.
• Gin and tonic syrup
• 50 g sugar
• 50 ml water
• 100 ml gin
• 200 ml tonic water
• 50 ml lime juice
• Dissolve the sugar in the water in a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Simmer for 2-3 minutes before removing from the heat and leaving to cool. Measure about 100ml of the cooled syrup and combine with the gin, tonic water and lime juice.
• Strawberry puree
• 500 g strawberries
• 250 g icing sugar
• 1 lemon, juice only
• Tip the strawberries into an electric blender and add the icing sugar and lemon juice. Process until smooth, before straining through a sieve.

1. To assemble the cake, slice the sponge horizontally, into 3 equal sized layers. Place the first sponge round on a serving plate on tray, and drizzle over one third of the gin-flavoured syrup.
2. Spread one third of the tea-flavoured white chocolate ganache over the first layer of soaked sponge. Cover with the second layer of sponge. Soak this layer with more gin syrup and spread with another layer of earl grey tea ganache. Place the third layer of sponge over the ganache. Soak once more with syrup and spread with the remaining ganache.
3. Refrigerate for 1 hour before cutting into wedges. Serve with the strawberry puree around separately.

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Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/gin-and-tonic-opera-cake-50158446 (may not work)