The Lemon Drizzle Cake is a traditional British dessert and one that’s often requested by my family. It’s an easy cake to make and has a soft texture flavored with lemon zest. Fresh lemon glaze is the star here, poured over the cake as soon as it comes out of the oven. The glaze soaks into the cake as it cools and contrasts perfectly with the sweet cake.
Similar to my quick and easy Yogurt Cake, Lemon Drizzle Cake can be varied with any type of citrus fruit. I’ve made it with clementines but oranges or grapefruit would be delicious too! Lemon is classic and the tart glaze really compliments the cake.
Lemon Drizzle Cake method
One unique thing about this recipe is how it’s measured. The first step is to weigh your eggs, 3 or 4 depending on how big you want the finished cake to be. You will use the weight of the eggs to determine the weight of your other ingredients. Whatever weight you find for the eggs, is the weight for the butter, sugar, and flour for the recipe. I’ll give cup measurements in case you don’t have a kitchen scale but I recommend buying one if you haven’t already. I have this one and I use it all the time. There are lots to choose from in a range of prices.
Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoon softened unsalted butter, 257 grams
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar, 255 grams
- zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
- 4 room temperature eggs, 255 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 255 grams
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 3 tablespoons whole milk, room temperature
Fresh Lemon Glaze
- Juice from the lemon you zested for the cake, about 3 tablespoons
- 3/4 to 1 cup powdered sugar
Weighing ingredients
If you want to try the weight method for this cake, start with the eggs. Place the eggs in a small bowl and weigh them. I used 4 eggs for a large loaf pan. If you want a smaller cake, use 3 eggs.
Now weigh the butter, sugar, and flour separately in small bowls and set aside. Add the baking powder and salt to the flour after you measure it.
The butter, eggs, and milk all need to be at room temperature to mix the cake properly so plan ahead for that part. I like to set them out and measure the other ingredients at the same time several hours ahead of when I want to make the cake. When I’m ready all I have to do is mix the batter and bake it.
Mixing the Lemon Drizzle Cake
In a mixing bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest until it’s light and fluffy.
I use a microplane zester to get superfine lemon zest. When you are zesting a lemon or any citrus fruit be sure to only take off the outer layer and not any of the white pith underneath. The lower white pith can be very bitter.
Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the bowl with a silicone scraper between eggs. Add half of the flour and mix gently. Mix in the while milk and then the final portion of flour. Beat on low speed until the batter is smooth.
Baking the Lemon Drizzle Cake
Scrape into a buttered or parchment paper lined 8 by 4 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is lightly browned and finished baking. If not, set a timer for 5 minutes and check again. Bake and check in 5 minute intervals until the cake is done.
You can test a cake in several ways. The most common is poking a toothpick in the center of the cake. If no wet batter or crumbs are on the toothpick then it’s done. Another method I like to use is to lightly press on the center of the cake, if it springs back then it’s done. If the indentation stays then it’s not fully cooked. Also, the edges of a cake shrink back from the sides of the pan when it’s done baking. One of my favorite ways of testing a cake is with a meat thermometer. A cake should test at 200 degrees when it’s perfectly baked.
Fresh lemon glaze
While the cake is baking, make the fresh lemon glaze. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup whisk together the lemon juice and 3/4 cup powdered sugar. You may need to add more powdered sugar to get the right consistency. Aim for glaze about the thickness of pancake batter. It shouldn’t be runny but just thick enough to pool up on the cake. I mix it up as soon as I put the cake in the oven and set aside. This lets the lemon juice absorb all the sugar so there are no lumps.
As soon as the cake is out of the oven, poke the top all over with a toothpick. That’s the secret to getting the glaze to soak in with whole cake instead of just sinking to the bottom. Pour enough glaze to cover the top of the cake and start to pool around the edges. Wait a few minutes and pour another layer on. Repeat this process until all the glaze is used.
Set the cake on a wire rack to cool before removing from the pan and serving. It’s much easier to remove if you like the pan with parchment paper. This also makes cleanup easier. I’m all about saving time on cleanup! Slice the cake and serve on a pretty platter and enjoy!
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cake
- 18 tbsp unsalted butter 1 cup plus 2 tablespoon, at room temperature, 257 grams
- 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar 255 grams
- zest of one lemon
- 4 large eggs room temperature, 255 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 255 grams
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 1 tsp fine salt
- 3 tbsp whole milk room temperature
Fresh Lemon Glaze
- juice of 1 lemon about 3 tablespoons
- 3/4-1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Lemon Cake
- If using weight measurements: weigh eggs. Weigh same amount of butter, granulated sugar, and flour in separate bowls. Add baking powder and salt to flour and set aside.
- Butter an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan or line with parchment paper and set aside.
- Cream butter, granulated sugar, and lemon zest in a bowl with a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer until smooth and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time, beat well after each addition. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.
- Add half of the flour mixture and beat on low just until combined.
- Mix in the milk and beat on low to blend.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and beat just until smooth.
- Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes. Test to see if it's done baking. Poke a toothpick into the center of the cake, if it comes out clean the cake is fully baked. If the toothpick has batter or wet crumbs on it, bake for 5 minutes and test again. Repeat baking in 5 minute intervals until the cake is done.
Fresh Lemon Glaze
- While the cake is baking, whisk together the lemon juice with 3/4 cup of powdered sugar until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if needed. The glaze should be a thick but pourable consistency. Set aside until the cake is done.
- As soon as the cake is out of the oven, poke it all over the top with a toothpick. Pour the glaze on the center of the cake until the whole top is covered. Wait a few minutes for the glaze to absorb into the cake and repeat until the glaze is used.
- Set glazed cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack until completely cool.
