Easy Lemon Drizzle Cake

The perfect Lemon Drizzle Cake should be three things: lemony, soft and moist...this amazing cake delivers on all three! A lemony cake, a lemon syrup soak that permeates the cake and a covering of thin lemon icing.

Nothing is more disappointing than a dry Lemon Drizzle Cake, or worse still, one that doesn't bowl you over with its sweet lemony goodness. I have found that many recipes use the pound cake formula, i.e. same amounts of sugar, flour and butter plus eggs. The issue I find with this is that the cake is simply not moist enough for a good Lemon Drizzle.

My Lemon Drizzle Cake's secret ingredient is natural yoghurt; this beauty of an ingredient guarantees a super soft cake. That and oodles of lemon zest and lemon juice simply make the best Lemon Drizzle Cake ever!

This cake is inspired by my Easy Lime Drizzle Cake, which has been really popular, as has my Chia Seed Cake. However, I have reduced the sugar content a little in this Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe, which is something I am consciously trying to do with all of my recipes, and increased the lemon a little for extra sweet zinginess.

Jump to:

• Why is this Lemon Drizzle Cake so good?
• Ingredients and Substitutions
• Instructions
• Variations
• Equipment
• Storage
• Top Tips
• FAQs
• Related
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Why is this Lemon Drizzle Cake so good?

Super lemony✔️

Soft, fluffy and moist cake✔️

Very easy to make✔️

Stores well✔️

Ingredients and Substitutions

See Recipe Card below for Ingredient quantities.

• 5 Lemons - in total, you will need 5-6 tablespoons of lemon juice and 5 teaspoons of lemon zest. This will be 4-5 medium-sized lemons
• Self-raising flour - or you can use Plain (all-purpose) flour plus a level teaspoon of baking powder
• Baking powder
• Fine salt
• Caster (superfine) sugar - or you can use golden caster sugar
• Natural yoghurt - or you can use natural Greek yoghurt
• Unsalted butter - or you can use salted butter and omit the fine salt
• Large eggs
• Icing (confectioner's) sugar - vital that it is sifted

Instructions

See Recipe Card below for exact instructions.

Lemon Loaf Cake

First of all, the initial prep - this will take about 10 minutes:

Bring your eggs, yoghurt and butter up to room temperature,
Sift your flour, salt and baking powder together and set aside.
Mix your yoghurt with your lemon juice and set aside (don't worry if it looks a little curdled).
Rub your lemon zest into your sugar.

Then it really is just a case of bringing everything together.

Start by whizzing your butter around in your mixer until really nice and soft. When soft enough, your butter will stick to the outside of the bowl and not clump around the paddle or beaters.

Tip in your sugar and whizz away again to form a paste-like consistency.

Add in your yoghurt and lemon juice mixture and whizz on a medium setting until incorporated.

Give your bowl a wipe-down with your spatula to ensure the mixture at the bottom is incorporated.

The next stage is to simply add an egg along with a tablespoon of your flour mixture and give it a whizz on a medium setting. Repeat with each egg until they have all been used up. Add the rest of your flour and gently mix in on a low setting until incorporated. Wipe down again and then beat on a medium-high setting for 10 seconds to ensure it's fully mixed and smooth. Don't overbeat, though, as this will develop the gluten in your flour, and your cake will be rubbery.

Again, ensure you wipe the bowl down with a spatula to ensure all of the ingredients are mixed. You don't want the surprise of finding an unmixed mixture sitting at the bottom.

Tip the Lemon Drizzle cake batter into your lined loaf tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and baked throughout.

Lemon Drizzle Cake Syrup

This stage takes about 5 minutes

On a low setting, heat your water and sugar together in a small saucepan until the sugar granules have dissolved.

Turn up the heat and simmer for about a minute, until the mixture has become a little gloopy.

Set aside to cool, then mix in your lemon juice.

When your cake comes out of the oven, prick it all over the top with a skewer or cocktail stick and then pour your syrup all over.

Once the cake has cooled for a bit, you can remove it from your tin.

Lemon drizzle icing (frosting)

This stage also takes about 5 minutes.

Once your Lemon Drizzle Cake is totally cool, make your lime drizzle icing. This is simply icing sugar and lemon juice mixed together. Pour your icing over the cake, starting at the centre and allowing it to slide gently over the sides at its own pace.

For other zesty cakes, try my delicious Almond, blueberry and limoncello bundt cake.

Variations

This recipe can be used as the basis for other loaf cakes, such as my Chia Seed Cake and my Lime Drizzle Cake.

You can make a simple Vanilla Loaf Cake by omitting all of the lemon and adding a tablespoon of vanilla extract instead of the lemon juice.

Equipment

You will need a hand mixer with the beaters attached, or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment fitted.

Another crucial piece of kit is a spatula so that you can scrape your bowl down and be sure that all of the ingredients are equally incorporated.

You will need a2 pound loaf tin, and I also recommend using loaf tin liners to save having to line the tin with greaseproof paper (it's far easier!).

Storage

This Lemon Drizzle Cake should be stored at room temperature in an airtight tin and will keep for up to 5 days.

Top Tips

Here are some key Top Tips to be sure that your Lemon Drizzle Cake is absolutely perfect:

• Use fresh lemons rather than bought lemon juice; the flavour is far superior and more authentic.
• Ensure that your eggs, yoghurt and butter are all at room temperature, as this allows them to amalgamate fully when mixed and keeps your cake light and fluffy.
• Rub your lemon zest into your sugar, as this gives a more intense lemon flavour.
• Line your loaf tin with loaf tin liners to save time.
• Use an oven thermometer to ensure that your Lemon Drizzle Cake is baked at the right temperature.
• Sift your icing (confectioner's) sugar before making your icing to give a smooth frosting.

FAQs

Related

Below are some other loaf cake recipes on Ella's Better Bakes that you might like to try. All of these have been extremely popular as proven by the comments other bakers have made

📖 Recipe

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