The Ultimate Lemon Drizzle Cake

By
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm
Elaine Lemm is a renowned British food writer, classically trained chef, teacher, and author with over 25 years of experience writing about British food and cooking.
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Updated on 08/25/21
The Ultimate Lemon Drizzle Cake

The Spruce / Tara Omidvar
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 45 mins
Total: 55 mins
Servings: 8 servings
Yield: 1 loaf cake
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
432 Calories
24g Fat
50g Carbs
6g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories 432
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 24g 31%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Cholesterol 117mg 39%
Sodium 232mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 2g 6%
Total Sugars 37g
Protein 6g
Vitamin C 6mg 32%
Calcium 110mg 8%
Iron 1mg 8%
Potassium 133mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Everyone loves a lemon drizzle cake. This cake is the star of an afternoon tea or any time cake is called for.

There are endless recipes for a lemon drizzle cake and endless variations. This recipe uses flour and ground almonds, but if you want a nut-free cake, then use 6 ounces or 175 grams of self-rising flour and omit the ground almonds.

The cake is made with the all-in-one method in a mixer, and if you don't have one, then you can do it just as well by hand. If you can, buy large, juicy, wax-free lemons. The zest is used as well as the juice, so it's best to use lemons without the wax coating. The sugar for the syrup can be a simple white granulated sugar or, for extra flavor, demerara. Either will give a crunchy coating to the cake and bring much-needed sweetness, too.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

  • 4 ounces (115 grams) self-rising flour

  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

  • 3 ounces (75 grams) ground almonds, or almond flour

  • 6 ounces (175 grams) unsalted butter, softened

  • 6 ounces (175 grams) superfine sugar

  • 2 tablespoons lemon zest, from 2 large lemons

  • 3 large eggs

For the Syrup:

  • 4 ounces (115 grams) sugar

  • 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice, from 2 large lemons

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    The Ultimate Lemon Drizzle Cake ingredients

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 F/180 C. Lightly grease and line a loaf tin measuring 9 x 5 1/2 x 3 inches or 23 x 13 x 7 cm (also known as a 2-pound tin or 900 mL) with greaseproof paper. Put to the side.

    Lightly greased and lined a loaf tin

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  3. Sieve or sift the flour and baking powder into a stand mixer bowl or a food processor. Add the remaining cake ingredients.

    cake ingredients in a bowl

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  4. Mix on a high speed until all the cake ingredients are well mixed and a thick, smooth batter has formed.

    batter in a bowl

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin. Place in the center of the preheated oven and bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until, when pierced with a skewer, it comes out clean and dry. Place the hot cake, still in its tin, on a cooling rack.

    cake in a loaf pan

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  6. Make the syrup by quickly mixing together the sugar and the lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved.

    sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  7. Prick the cake all over using a skewer and then slowly spoon the syrup over a little at a time. Always allow the syrup to soak in before adding any more.​

    lemon drizzle poured over the cake in the loaf pan

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

  8. Let the cake cool completely in the tin. Once cold, lift the cake out and either slice and eat or wrap in fresh waxed paper and place in an airtight box or tin.

    The Ultimate Lemon Drizzle Cake

    The Spruce / Tara Omidvar

How to Store

  • The lemon drizzle cake will keep well for a couple of days in an airtight container. There's no need to refrigerate the cake unless your kitchen is especially hot.
  • If the cake should go a little stale, simply warm slightly and serve with custard as a dessert.
  • While lemon drizzle cake can be frozen by wrapping the cake or individual slices well in plastic wrap and placing in a freezer bag or container, the icing will lose its signature crunch.

Why Has My Lemon Drizzle Cake Sunk?

If your lemon drizzle cake has sunk in the middle, it may be because you let the mixed batter sit too long before baking, or you opened the oven too many times as the cake baked.

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