Best ever lemon drizzle cake recipe

Last Updated on 17 December 2023 by cooksimply

If like me, you love baking cakes but don’t have the time to spend hours whipping up masterpieces in the kitchen, then you’re going to absolutely love this lemon drizzle cake recipe. You don’t need many ingredients and will probably have most of them in your fridge and store cupboard already, plus in just over an hour you could be serving up slices of really zingy, moist cake which won’t last very long.

My best ever lemon drizzle cake recipe

For a classic sponge, I have always used the 200g method [of flour, butter and sugar] and four eggs. Having tried lots of combinations over the years, this is the one that I find works best. It produces an amazingly light and moist sponge cake and has not failed me yet. 

The key is to make sure the butter is soft and to add the eggs slowly while beating the mixture, so there is no curdling. I also use electric beaters or my cake mixer, as I find this combines the cake mixture so much better than if I am to do it by hand. Of course, if you don’t have either, by hand is fine – but be prepared for a great arm work out! 

This lemon drizzle cake is also very zesty, the flavour will make the insides of your mouth zing! I don’t like very sweet cakes, so to me, this is the perfect sugar to acidity ratio. Some people may find the cake too lemony, so you could always hold back on the lemon juice when pouring over the just-baked cake. 

Lemon drizzle cake icing

I know it is so tempting to want to get on with the icing straight away but you really must let the cake cool first. I’ve made the mistake of trying to ice it while still warm and you end up with a sticky gooey mess. Still tastes nice but doesn’t look so appetising. 

All that is needed to make the lemon drizzle cake icing is a combination of sieved icing sugar and lemon juice. Don’t pour the lemon juice in all at once, as you may find the icing will be far too wet. Instead, make sure you add the juice a little at a time until you have a consistency that is pourable but firm.

How to store it

If by some miracle you have any left, then store in an air-tight container at room temperature. It should last for three days. However, if you’re family are cake fiends like mine, then you really don’t have to worry…

Moist lemon drizzle cake with icing

4.91 from 10 votes

Whip up a quick and delicious cake that will delight the whole family. Not only does this lemon loaf zing but has the right balance of sweetness, too.

Servings 8 people

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 45 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

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Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 200 g unsalted butter softened
• 200 g caster sugar
• 200 g self-raising Flour or plain flour with 1 tsp of baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 1 unwaxed lemon zest and juice

For the icing

• 150 g icing sugar
• 1 unwaxed lemon juice and zest for decoration

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line a 900g loaf tin.
• Put the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream together until smooth, light and fluffy. I do this with electric beaters.
• Beat in the eggs a little at a time – to make sure the mixture doesn’t curdle. Once smooth and combined, stir through the lemon zest.
• Then fold the flour until combined.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Do check the cake occasionally as some ovens are hotter than others. Mine is fan-assisted so my sponge can be done in around 40ish minutes.
• Remove from the oven, make some holes in the sponge with a skewer and pour over the juice of 1 lemon and allow to soak into the cake. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Make the icing

• Once the cake is cooled, sieve the icing sugar into a bowl. Gradually stir through the lemon juice until you a pourable icing consistency. Don’t add all the lemon juice in one go, do it bit by bit, until you are happy. You may not need all of it.
• Pour the icing over the top of the cake and use a palette knife to smooth the icing to cover the top of the cake, allow the icing to drip down the sides of the loaf and let it set.
  
• You can decorate with lemon zest or even slices of sugared lemons – or not at all. The cake will be ready to eat just as it is

Notes

Gluten-free lemon drizzle cake option:  Use gluten-free flour instead and the cake will be as delicious. In  fact, I don’t think you’ll even notice the difference

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal

Calories: 330kcal

Course: Dessert, Tea

Cuisine: American, British

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how this lemon drizzle cake turned out for you. Leave a comment below and tag @cooksimplyathome on Instagram. For other recipes check out my index.