This classic Lemon Drizzle Cake is fresh, light and perfect for any teatime treat.
Whilst I lay awake at 6.30am this morning, it occurred to me there is a connection between the snoring of my husband, and the dawn chorus.
I’m not sure why I was awake, maybe because of both the snoring and the birds, but I was suddenly acutely aware of how small things can make mammoth noises.
My husband snores so loud he literally makes the bed shake! Which, to be honest isn't great. However, the sound of the dawn chorus is joyous!
How can tiny tiny birds make so much beautiful and loud noise? It was a cacophony of bird song out there today. And what also occurred to me was how I didn't mind being awake at 3.30am listening to it, because it meant the days are longer, which means spring and summer is on it's way.
Summer Food
I used to dislike summer. I complained about the heat and the sun. I’m very pale, the sun really doesn’t like me. But that was before I really appreciated all the good things. The ability to sit outside the pub (when they eventually open after Lockdown that is), the long evening walks we can take the dogs on, and the abundance of delicious fresh food.
This recipe is one of those examples, of delicious fresh summer food. Lemon Drizzle Cake is, in my mind, a summer classic. Its light and fresh, and actually very easy to make.
This particular recipe isn’t exact, it is very exact…….you use the weight of the eggs to determine the weight of the rest of the ingredients. Using exact measurements like this makes the lightest, fluffiest cake with everything aligning just right.
Pro-Tip
This is a fantastic wedding and celebration cake flavour. Served with lemon curd and lemon buttercream, its a firm favourite amongst my clients. Make Lemon buttercream by mixing some lemon curd through your usual buttercream and add a little extra icing sugar to soak up the moisture.
My book on how to make a Light and Fluffy Sponge Cake, which uses the same technique, also has a handy table to tell you how many eggs you need for each size of cake.
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Equipment
- Electric Mixer if you have one, with a paddle attachment, or an electric hand mixer.
- Loaf Tin
Ingredients
- 3 Eggs
- Butter or baking spread same weight as eggs in their shells
- Caster or Granulated Sugar same weight as eggs in their shells
- Plain Flour or Self Raising Flour same weight as eggs in their shells
- Baking Powder if using Plain Flour 1 tspn per 100gms flour
- 2 Unwaxed Lemons
- 2 tbspn granualted sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 160c Fan, 180c, 350f, GM4
- Grease and line your Loaf Tin with parchment. Or make 2 x 7" layers by greasing and lining 2 tins.
- Weigh the eggs in their shells, this will give you the weight for the other ingredients
- In a mixing bowl add the butter/baking spread and caster sugar
- Mix until well beaten, and light and fluffy
- In a jug crack the eggs and add one at a time to the butter and sugar mix. Mixing on high between each one
- Add a dessert spoon of flour if the mix looks like its curdling
- Once all the egg is mixed in, gently hand fold in the flour (and baking powder if using it) using a metal spoon
- Lastly grate the zest from one lemon, and then juice, adding all of this to the mix and folding in
- Pour into the baking tin and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean
- Once baked remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes
- Zest and juice the other lemon and mix in the granulated sugar
- Spoon the lemon juice, zest and sugar over the cooling cake
- Remove from the tin, transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool fully
For other classic recipes try:
Light and fluffy Sponge Cake
Ginger Cake
Easy Coffee and Walnut Cake
Coconut and Cherry Loaf Cake
Big and Fluffy Scones
Try my Ginger Cake Recipe or Raspberry and White Chocolate Cake recipe for an alternative celebration cake flavour.
Lois Carrington says
OK I have had a big problem with ingredients that are not exact. What is a teaspoon? I was taught it should be as much above as below. But then cutlery has no standard. I don't think this is what you mean though. My cake is light and lemony but has far too much bicarb because I can taste it over the lemon. I don't have fancy measuring cups. I can't find them locally. I am English and live in France so I favour recipes in grams. I am a Mary Berry fan. You may want to consider offering metric equivalents even for a teaspoon to perfect your recipe information. I was also taught to weigh the eggs as you do, and I agree it must be better to add the bicarb as a separate ingredient if the SR flour might be old, on the other hand, the bicarb might also be old! I just bought new flour and bicarb to make your recipe by the way. I watched your video and liked your scientific explanations! You certainly should break the eggs in separate bowls, and not in one jug as you do in the video. Thanks for your recipes. Best wishes.
Bronya Seifert says
Hi Lois, Thanks for your feedback. Interestingly I have been looking this week into the differing sizes of teaspoons and tablespoons across the globe this week. France and the UK should be pretty much the same. In the USA a teaspoon is very slightly smaller, and in Australia it is slightly bigger. In future recipes I will look to include weights as well as spoon sizes.
I also note you are using Bicarb. My recipe calls for Baking Powder which is slightly different to Bicarb. Baking Powder contains cream of tartare and cornstarch, so by volume isn't as strong as Bicarb. I wouldn't advise swapping one for the other as they work slightly differently. If you can try the recipe with Baking Powder I'm sure you won't be able to taste it.