Refreshing lemon drizzle loaf cake baked with plain flour, fresh lemon zest and zesty lemon icing. Great cake for an afternoon treat. This recipe is similar to my lemon drizzle cupcakes but this recipe is made with plain flour in case you run out of self-raising flour.
Why make this recipe?
- Easy enough to make
- Amazing lemon taste
My top tips on making this lemon drizzle cake
Don’t worry if your cake mixture curdles as you mix it. Carry on whisking and it will come back to together.
Have your lemon syrup ready the minute your cake comes out of the oven. The cake has to be hot, for the syrup to seep in and evaporate at the same time. If you add the syrup when the cake is cold or only warm, you’ll end up with soggy cake.
Don’t swap too many ingredients, in fact, just leave the recipe as it is. The taste is amazing and it’s all down to the amount of lemon, sugar, butter, eggs and full-fat milk.
Ingredients & substitutions
I’m not too keen on substitutions with this cake. The taste is amazing, so I’m not going to suggest too many alternations.
The only thing that won’t make much difference is that you can swap plain flour for self-raising flour. Make sure that you leave out the baking powder as there is already raising agent in the self-raising flour.
I sometimes add a table spoon of poppy seeds, because I just love them and they work well with the lemon flavour. It also looks ever so sophisticated and makes me think that I’m eating healthy cake!
The method – for detailed recipe see below
Make sure that your oven is set for a medium to hight temperature. I normally preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas3
Put the sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until well mixed. I make sure that the eggs mixture is nice and creamy and slightly fluffy. This helps the cake to rise well.
Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in another mixing bowl. You don’t need to sieve your flour, just stir everything well.
Combine the milk and vanilla extract in another bowl.
Add one—third of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat well. Then beat in one-third of the milk mixture. Repeat this process twice more until everything has been added.
Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. At this stage, your cake mixture might look like it’s curdled, but don’t worry. Carry on adding flour to the egg mixture and whisk on medium speed. It will all come together in the end.
Turn the mixer down to low speed, pour in the melted butter and beat until well incorporated
Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Make sure that you spread the cake batter evenly and if you don’t want your loaf cake to doom too much, spread it out from the centre with a slightly dip in the middle.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 45 min or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched. Check with a wooden skewer, when you think your cake is done. If it comes out clean (not wet), your cake is done. If not add another 5 minutes and check again.
Make the lemon syrup. While the cake is baking, put the lemon juice, sugar and 100ml water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over low heat. Raise the heat and boil until it has reduced by half, or until it has a think syrup consistency. Make sure that the sugar is fully melted before you pour it on to your loaf cake
When the cake comes out of the oven, put it on a wire cooling rack and prick it with a wooden skewer in several places. Then carefully spoon over the syrup. Don’t go too fast when you are pouring the syrup and let the syrup to seep in slowly.
Leave out on the wire rack to cool down completely.
To make the lemon icing, mix together icing sugar with more lemon juice until you have a thick syrup. Spoon over the cold lemon cake and leave to set before serving. You can also decorate the top with leftover lemon zest or lemon decorations.
Storage & Baking ahead
This cake keeps well and the flavour improves with time. I’ve had this cake easily for 3-4 days but beyond that I’ve never had enough to keep!
This lemon loaf cake also freezes well. Bake the cake and add the lemon syrup, but don’t use the lemon drizzle on the top. Freeze when completely cold.
Keep for up to 3 months in the freezer and when you want to serve your cake leave out to defrost naturally (over night). Make the lemon drizzle and finish decorating your loaf cake with additional lemon zest or lemon sugar decorations.
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Ingredients
- 320 g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- Grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons or dried lemon zest
- 350 g plain flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt depends on your taste
- 250 ml whole milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 200 g unsalted butter – melted
Lemon syrup
- Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
- 50 g caster sugar
- 100 ml water
Lemon Drizzle
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 100 grams icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas3
- Put the sugar, eggs and lemon zest in a freestanding electric mixer with a paddle attachment (or use a handheld electric whisk) and beat until well mixed.
- Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in another mixing bowl.
- Combine the milk and vanilla extract in another bowl.
- Add one—third of the flour mixture to the sugar mixture and beat well. Then beat in one-third of the milk mixture. Repeat this process twice more until everything has been added. Turn the mixer up to high speed and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed, pour in the melted butter and beat until well incorporated
- Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 min or until golden brown and the sponge bounces back when touched.
- While the cake is baking, put the lemon juice, sugar and 100ml water in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over low heat. Raise the heat and boil until it has reduced by half, or until it has a think syrup consistency.
- When the cake comes out of the oven, put it on a wire cooling rack and prick it with a wooden skewer in several places. Then carefully spoon over the syrup.
- Leave out on the wire rack to cool down completely.
- To make the lemon icing, mix together icing sugar with more lemon juice until you have a thick syrup. Spoon over the cold lemon cake and leave to set before serving. You can also decorate the top with leftover lemon zest or lemon decorations.
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