Lemon Drizzle Cake
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This past week has been a crazy one. My hands are literally blistered from baking, and my body is now running on empty. What I need right about now is a decent cup of tea and a delicious pick-me-up, like a slice of Granny’s Lemon Drizzle cake!
For those of you who aren’t following Baking it Granny on social media (Facebook & Instagram), you may have missed that this weekend I was demoing at the Foodies Festival in Edinburgh. It was a fantastic weekend filled with baking and tons of amazing food. It was lovely getting to chat with people about all the things their Granny’s used to bake too.
Today, though, it is back to reality. I had hoped to have Granny’s Lemon Drizzle Cake up before now, but I found myself drowning in Tiffin as I prepared for the Foodies Festival. That didn’t stop me from enjoying a slice or two of this Lemon Drizzle (which I’d thankfully baked the week before) to keep me powering through the endless prep.
Like any good Lemon Drizzle, this moist little loaf is bursting with flavour and topped with a zesty icing glaze, which holds a little crunch. Best of all, you literally bung it all in a bowl, mix it, bake it, finish it with some syrup & icing, and you’re done! And with Granny’s tried and tested methods, we guarantee there won’t be a dry-tasting slice in the house!
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Lemon Drizzle Cake
INGREDIENTS
- 170 g Self-raising Flour (see Self-raising Flour note below)
- 115 g Soft Margarine (or Butter) (at room temperature)
- 170 g Caster Sugar
- 2 Free-range Eggs (at room temperature; see Egg Size note below)
- 5 tbsp Milk
- 1 Lemon
- 85 g Icing Sugar
EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 180°c (160°c for fan-assisted ovens or Gas Mark 4) and line a 2lb loaf tin with some greaseproof paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour over the butter, caster sugar, eggs, milk and zest of your lemon. Mix well until all the ingredients are combined and smooth.
- Transfer to your pre-lined tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, until golden on top and a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before poking the top of your cake all over with a skewer.
- In a small bowl, mix half the icing sugar with the juice of your lemon to create a syrup-like icing, and spoon half of the syrup all over the cake.
- Add the other half of the icing sugar to the remaining syrup to create a thin icing. Spoon over the top whilst the cake is still warm to finish with an icing glaze.
- If desired, top with a little extra lemon zest.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
All my recipes are developed using a digital scale and the metric system (grams and millilitres). Cup measurements are available as a conversion but these, unfortunately, won’t always be as accurate. For best results, I always recommend baking with a digital scale.
RECIPE NOTES:
Self-Raising Flour:
Don’t have self-raising flour? For this recipe, simply whisk together 170g (1⅓ cups) plain flour and 2¼ teaspoons baking powder instead. If you bake regularly, you can also make a larger batch to keep in your baking cupboard. For full instructions, cup conversions and answers to common questions, see my Self-raising Flour Ingredient Guide.Egg Size:
When it comes to eggs, I always buy mixed-weight free-range eggs. Generally speaking, egg size doesn’t make a huge difference in most baking, unless you are using sizes that lean towards the extremes. If you’re unsure which eggs to use, I recommend medium eggs in the UK, which are roughly equivalent to large eggs in the US. That’s what this recipe has been tested with.Storage:
Lemon Drizzle should be stored in an airtight container and will keep for about 1 week.Freezing:
You can freeze Lemon Drizzle Loaf, either as a complete loaf or in slices. Tightly wrap your lemon drizzle cake in cling film, then again in tin foil. To defrost, remove from the freezer and allow to warm to room temperature before eating. Do not re-freeze once defrosted, and do not leave it in your freezer for more than 3 months to avoid freezer-burn.Tried this recipe?
Tag @bakingwithgranny or use the hashtag #bakingwithgranny!To make Lemon Drizzle Cake, you start by creaming the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time. Add the flour and lemon zest before baking in a loaf tin until golden and springy.
Whilst still warm, poke some holes across the cake and pour over the drizzle icing made from freshly squeezed lemon juice and sugar, and let it soak in for a beautifully moist, zesty finish.
Lemon drizzle icing is so incredibly easy to make, and really does make lemon drizzle loaf cake what it is. All you need is some lemon juice and icing sugar.
You start by making a syrup-like icing to drench your lemon drizzle sponge cake. You then add a bit more sugar to the syrup to create a thicker icing to top your cake with, and give it that lovely glazed top.
Originally published in August 2017. Updated in March 2025.
Thank you to Naomi Seiler for creating the updated photos.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Amy Reid
Amy Reid is an award-winning food blogger, mother, wife and cookbook author. Inspired by her childhood in the kitchen with her Mum – a professional baker and her children’s Granny – Amy now shares her tried-and-tested traditional home baking recipes with bakers of all abilities around the world. She lives in Scotland with her husband, two sons and her small pack of Siberian huskies.