Lemon Drizzle Cake
Serves 8
A classic British favourite — a moist cake with plenty of lemon flavour and a sweet, tangy glaze that seeps into the warm cake and sets into a crisp layer on top.
Ingredients
Cake
- 115 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 175 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 lemons, zested
- 175 g plain flour
- 55 ml buttermilk (or whole milk)
Glaze
- 1 lemon, juice of
- 115 g icing sugar
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (conventional). Line a round cake tin, approx. 22 cm, with baking paper.
- Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy — take your time, this is what makes the cake light.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Zest the lemons — keep it light, as the white pith is bitter — and stir into the batter.
- Stir in the flour alternately with the buttermilk — sift it in if you like, to avoid lumps.
- Pour into the tin and bake for about 40 minutes, until golden and a skewer comes out clean.
- Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice into a smooth glaze. Pour over the cake while still warm so it soaks in. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
About the ingredients
Lemon: The zest is where all the flavour lives, so use organic lemons if you can — they haven't been treated with pesticides, which can otherwise linger on the skin.
Buttermilk: Makes the cake extra moist, and the mild acidity brings out the lemon flavour — buttermilk is preferable, but whole milk works fine too.
