Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake
A buttery lemon loaf finished with a sharp, crunchy lemon-sugar crust that soaks into the warm sponge. Almost the entire trick is poking the holes the moment it leaves the oven.
Plus 1h cooling / chilling time
Method
- 1
Preheat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan / 325°F / Gas 3). Grease a 900g (2lb) loaf tin and line the base and long sides with a single strip of baking parchment, leaving an overhang on each long side for lifting the cake out later.
- 2
All-in-one method: Place the butter, caster sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, milk, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes, scraping down the sides once, until the batter is smooth, pale, and lump-free. Do not overmix — stop the moment it is uniform.
- 3
Spoon the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Drag the back of the spoon along the long axis to make a shallow trench down the middle — this helps the cake rise level rather than splitting in a peak.
- 4
Bake on the middle shelf for 40–50 minutes, until the cake is deep golden, springy in the centre, and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. If the top is browning too quickly after 30 minutes, tent loosely with foil.
Bake45:00 - 5
While the cake is in its last 10 minutes, make the drizzle: stir the granulated sugar and lemon juice together in a small bowl. Do not heat or fully dissolve — you want a wet, gritty sugar slush, not a syrup. The undissolved sugar is what creates the crunchy crust.
- 6
As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, leave it in the tin and prick the top all over with a skewer — go right down to the bottom every 1.5cm or so. Slowly spoon the lemon-sugar mixture over the top, working in thirds and giving it 30 seconds between each pour to soak in.
- 7
Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin on a wire rack — at least 1 hour. The drizzle continues setting and the flavour deepens. Lift out using the parchment overhang, slice, and serve.
Cool60:00
Baker's Notes
- •Granulated sugar is non-negotiable for the drizzle. Caster will dissolve into the lemon juice and you will lose the signature crunchy top. Granulated holds enough texture to leave that gritty, sherbet-like crust.
- •Do not skip the skewer holes. The whole point of a drizzle cake is the syrup running into the sponge — without holes it sits on top, the sponge stays plain, and the topping is sticky rather than crystalline.
- •Unwaxed lemons matter for zest. Waxed lemons leave a slight bitter coating. If you can only find waxed, scrub them in warm water with a clean cloth before zesting.
- •Yield: this 900g loaf gives 10 generous slices. For a traybake, double everything and bake in a 30×23cm (12×9-inch) tin at the same temperature for 35–40 minutes.
- •Storage: airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days — the cake actually improves on day 2 as the drizzle continues to soak in. Freezes well, undrizzled, for 3 months; drizzle after thawing.
- •Variations: replace one of the lemons with the zest of an orange for a citrus twist, or stir 100g of fresh blueberries into the batter just before pouring into the tin.
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