Easy Old Fashioned Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
A lovely light buttery sponge cake soaked with a sharp-yet-sweet lemon syrup and drizzled with a sharp lemon icing for maximum lemony flavour
Equipment
- Scales
- 1lb Loaf Tin
- Baking Parchment or alternative - for lining the tin
- Spatula
- Mixing Bowl
- Wooden spoon OR
- Electric Hand Mixer
Ingredients
- 2 Large Free Range Eggs weigh the eggs in their shells to get the weight of the butter, sugar & flour
- Butter or Baking Spread - same weight as the eggs
- Caster Sugar - same weight as the eggs
- Self Raising Flour - same weight as the eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder - add to the flour
- 2 Large Lemons - zest only for the cake, juice for syrup
- 2 tbsp Caster Sugar
- For The Icing
- 1 Large Lemon - zest & juice
- 4 tbsp Icing Sugar - we like to use fondant icing sugar but plain old icing sugar is fine
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 160℃ Fan / 180℃ / 350F / Gas 4
- Grease and line your loaf tin and put to one side
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until they are pale, light and fluffy using you electric hand mixer or a wooden spoon.Butter or Baking Spread, Caster Sugar
- Break the eggs into a small jug or bowl and whisk lightly.2 Large Free Range Eggs
- Add the beaten egg just a little at a time to the mixture and beat well between additions.
- If the mixture looks like it's curdling (it will look like it's lumpy and separating after beating in the egg) add a spoonful of the flour to stabilise.
- When all of the egg has been incorporated, add in the lemon zest then sift over the flour and very gently fold it into the mixture. Use a spatula or large metal spoon and use slow and gentle movements, don't beat or whisk as we want to retain as much air in the mixture as possible.2 Large Lemons, Self Raising Flour
- Spoon you mixture into the tin using your spatula and gently smooth the top.
- Bake in the centre of the oven for around 50 minutes - 1 hour until beautifully golden and cooked through. Test for doneness with a skewer inserted in the middle. It should be clean with just maybe a crumb or two sticking to the skewer but not any raw mix. If it's not done bake for another 5 minutes and test again.
- While the cake is baking, make the lemon syrup. Place the caster sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has completely dissolved.2 tbsp Caster Sugar, 2 Large Lemons
- When the cake is done, spoon the hot syrup over the hot cake and leave in the tin until cold.
- When cold, remove the cake from the tin, remove the lining paper and place on a cooling rack.
- Make the icing by combining the icing sugar with the zest and juice of the lemon. Add the lemon juice a little at a time until you have a thick icing. If there isn't enough lemon juice add a few drops of water.1 Large Lemon, 4 tbsp Icing Sugar
- Drizzle the icing onto the cake with a spoon in a side-to-side motion. Leave to set then serve with a lovely cup of tea.
