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Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe

Lemon drizzle cake tops the list of Britain’s favourite cakes.

And it’s easy to understand why this light and zesty recipe is the preferred treat for so many of us.

Not only is it really easy to make, it also tastes light, yet is sweet enough to indulge our afternoon cuppa and slice of cake habit.

How To Make Lemon Drizzle Cake

how to make lemon drizzle cake

I’ve made this recipe so many times over the last few months – to the point that the boys actually said, lemon drizzle cake, again?! I should add they promptly scoffed down a sizeable slice each.

Why have I made it so much? I’ve been trying out different methods and ingredient levels to get it just right. I really love it when lemon drizzle cake is light, yet moist (sorry if you don’t like that word!)

Read on to find out how I made it (or scroll right down to the recipe card at the end for the full recipe and instructions).

Cream the butter and sugar together 

cream butter and sugar together in a bowl

You can use either butter or margarine in this recipe. I prefer to use butter in most of my baking recipes, but you can use what you have available. If you are using butter just make sure it is soft enough to cream in with the sugar.

Sometimes I have to pop it in the microwave to soften it up a bit – just don’t put it in for too long or it will go pop and splatter all over the inside of your microwave. I speak from experience, and it’s not fun to clean up. 

Give the butter and sugar a good mix together until it’s nice and creamy.

Add in the eggs

adding beaten egg to creamed butter and sugar

You can either crack the eggs directly in the bowl, or beat them separately in a jug and pour them in. Stir the egg into the creamed butter and sugar.

Sift in the self raising flour

sifting flour into lemon drizzle cake mixture

Add in the self raising flour using a sieve and then gently fold it into the cake mixture, don’t over mix it, just stir it in nice and gently.

 Add the juice and zest from 1 lemon

adding lemon to lemon drizzle cake

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I only add the juice and zest from 1 lemon to the actual cake batter. I normally use 3 lemons in total for the whole lemon drizzle cake recipe. I’ve played about with using 2 of the lemons in this step, and 1 for the drizzle, but I find that the cake is more moist and ‘lemony’ when 2 lemons are saved for the drizzle stage after baking. 

I just use a grater to get the lemon zest (watch your fingers when grating!)

Transfer lemon drizzle cake mixture to cake tin

https://lianaskitchen.co.uk/one-pot-spanish-chicken-rice-instant-pot-electric-pressure-cooker/

I lightly grease a springform cake tin – I use a 22cm tin. This doesn’t result in a tall cake, but works perfectly well for distributing the lemon drizzle to the whole of the cake once it is baked. Springform cake tins are the best to use for getting a cake cleanly out of the tin after baking!

springform cake tin for lemon drizzle cake

Bake for 30 to 45 minutes in the oven

skewer lemon drizzle cake

I bake the lemon drizzle cake in the oven for about 30 minutes (at 180C/gas mark 4). Check the cake is cooked through by inserting a skewer in it. If it’s ready, I pop it on a cooling rack and use the skewer to pierce holes all over the cake, ready for the delicious lemon drizzle to work it’s magic.

Prepare the lemon drizzle and pour it over the cake

drizzle for lemon cake

This is where I use the juice of 2 lemons for that special zesty taste that lemon drizzle cake is famous for. In a saucepan, gently heat the sugar and lemon juice until the sugar has dissolved.

Pour it evenly over the cake, the lemon syrup will soak through to the bottom, leaving a deliciously moist and zingy lemon drizzle cake.

Slice and serve

slice of lemon drizzle cake

You can also make up some lemon flavoured icing with some lemon juice, zest and icing sugar, and spread it over the top of the cake. I sometimes do this step but most times we’re quite happy to eat it without the extra icing on top – it’s tasty either way!

How about you – do you love lemon drizzle cake too? Let me know in the comments!

slice of lemon drizzle cake

Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe

Yield: 8-10 slices
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Oh how I love you Lemon Drizzle Cake! You're zingy and zesty and work perfectly well with my afternoon cup of tea 🙂

Ingredients

  • 200g butter or margarine, softened
  • 260g caster sugar (200g for the cake and 60g from the drizzle)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 200g self raising flour
  • 3 lemons

Instructions

For the cake

  1. Grease a 22cm springform tin and preheat the oven to 180C or gas mark 4.
  2. In a bowl, cream together the butter and 200g of the sugar.
  3. Add in the eggs and stir in until combined.
  4. Sift in the self raising flour, gently folding it in until it is completely mixed in.
  5. Add the juice and zest of 1 lemon. Stir in.
  6. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
  7. Using a skewer, pierce the top of the cake all over, ready for the lemon drizzle to soak into.

For the lemon drizzle

  1. In a saucepan add the remaining 60g of sugar and juice from 2 lemons.
  2. Gently heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.
  3. Pour the lemon syrup over the top of the lemon drizzle cake.

Optional Icing

If you want to add some lemon icing to the top of the cake, stir together a little icing sugar and the juice and zest from 1 lemon. When the cake has cooled, spread the icing over the top and leave to set.



Notes

I use a 22cm springform cake tin as it is easy to remove the cake from the tin once it has cooled down. You can use a different size tin but you may need to increase or decrease the cooking time accordingly.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 336Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 80mgSodium: 382mgCarbohydrates: 43gFiber: 1gSugar: 27gProtein: 4g

Did you make this recipe?

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Joanne

Saturday 11th of March 2023

Love a lemon drizzle cake Liana, usually make one in a loaf tin,looking forward to trying this one!

Bonnie Cyrnik

Friday 10th of March 2023

Could this work OK with vegan eggs? A recipe I did the other day said to cook on 10 degrees c less, for 10 min's more..

Liana Green

Monday 20th of March 2023

Hi Bonnie! I've not used vegan eggs in baking before but I don't see why they wouldn't work :)

Janice

Friday 10th of March 2023

I am the world’s worst baker but might give this a go, especially I never let a day pass without eating a whole lemon somehow. It sounds delicious.

Maz

Friday 3rd of June 2022

How is this made before? Is it still “moist” 🤣 the next day… I would like to make this for the girls at work, for a Monday.

Bill Harris

Sunday 1st of March 2020

You don't give the sugar amount for the lemon drizzle

Liana Green

Sunday 1st of March 2020

Hi Bill - I wrote in the instructions to use 200g for the cake and 60g for the sugar - sorry, it's not that clear in the ingredient list though so I've updated it now - hope that makes sense. Let me know if you end up making it! I'd love to hear how it goes :)

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