Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake! – Back to Basics!
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An easy lemon drizzle loaf cake – lemon sponge, lemon drizzle, lemon icing… what more could you want?! Another post in my back to basics series!
Lemon drizzle loaf cake
So, say hello to your new lemon addiction. I have always been a fan of lemon flavours, and this new post, another instalment in my back to basics series, is my lemon drizzle loaf cake. It’s easy, it’s delicious, and I love it.
In the past, I have uploaded my lemon lime drizzle cake – which is fairly similar. It’s an old post, with different quantities, and is obviously lemon and lime combined! As you all adore loaf cakes even more now though, I thought I would do an in-depth post into this beauty.
Tin
So… when you are starting with a loaf cake, you need the right tin. Loaf tins can vary greatly in size, even if they are described as being the same tin. For example, I have three different 2lb loaf tins, but they are all slightly different in how much water they can hold. Usually, this is okay as long as they are similar enough! For reference, this is the 2lb loaf tin that I use! If it helps, the exact measurements are – 24.4 x 14.4 x 6.9 cm. This may help you if your’s varies slightly!
Some loaf tins are still 2lb, but they are slightly wider and shallower, which means the bake time can vary – but baking a loaf cake is quite similar to baking a Bundt Cake. They can vary dependent on tin, just like a Bundt Cake, but usually they work out the same!
When I line the tin, I usually grease it slightly and then add parchment paper on top. I don’t then grease on top of the paper. I don’t feel the need, and if you use the correct type of baking parchment, then you definitely don’t need to do it!
Cake mix
Now when it comes to the cake mix, it really is just a basic cake mix. Even weight quantities of butter, sugar, eggs and flour – with lemon added in. Because it’s just the basic cake mix, you need to make sure the quantities are correct.
You can help this by weighing your eggs, in their shells, but generally I find 5 medium eggs = 250g of mix. It’s much easier this way. If you use large eggs, they can often be 60g, so I would only use 4 eggs, and only 240g each of the rest of the ingredients. I hope this makes sense.
When it comes to the lemon, you have two choices. Fresh lemon zest grated finely, or lemon extract! Either work well, and they both work the same! I swap between both each time, and they both work well. If you want to use the zest, you can then use the same lemons for the drizzles later.
Bake
When baking a loaf cake, it can vary a bit just like bundt cakes, as mentioned earlier! The usual timings is 55-65 minutes, because it’s quite a lot of mix, in a smaller sized tin (compared to a round tin!).
Sometimes, the baking can take longer though. My oven is a fan oven, so I put it on the fan setting at 160C – I set the timer for 55 minutes, and then check it. If when I open the door and touch the tin the cake wobbles, it’s definitely not done! However, if it’s not wobbling it’s worth checking.
Checking a cake is a fine balance though. When opening the oven door, you really don’t want to take too long. For every second an oven door is open, you will lose LOTS of heat. If your cake isn’t finished baking, it can sometimes also sink if taken out too early.
Lemon drizzle
For the lemon drizzle, you want to mix together the lemon juice and caster sugar – it makes a sort of cloudy drizzly paste – spoon this over the cake once it’s come out of the oven and it will soak in. Leave the cake to cool fully before moving from the tin!
The wonderful thing about this sort of cake is that it’s simple, but it’s so delicious. The lemon drizzle keeps the cake lovely and moist – and it won’t dry out. I use my stand mixer to mix the cake ingredients together, and it’s amazing. Although, this isn’t essential.
Decoration
Once cooled, you can optionally decorate it – I use the icing sugar, ‘watered’ down with some more lemon juice – and just drizzle it over with a small spoon! I then sprinkle on some lemon zest to make it look pretty, but both the icing drizzle and zest are optional. They just look nice!.
You can of course leave it completely plain, top it with a buttercream or even a fresh cream topping – that’s the charm of a bake like this, you can do whatever you want.
Top tips
A handy method to check if your cake is ready, is to (carefully!!) listen to the cake – if it’s making a bubbling/crackling sound, then it’s not actually finished baking either. You’ll want to continue baking till the skewer is clean, and also not making a sound.
I classically use caster sugar for the sponge and main drizzle, but this can be switched with golden caster sugar, light brown sugar, or even dark brown – but the changes can change the flavour!
I use medium eggs as I have said, and I use self-raising flour. If you can’t access self-raising, you will want to use plain flour with baking powder added in. You whisk in 2 level tsps of baking powder per 150g of flour, before using it in a recipe! It’s often easier to make a larger batch though, and then just store the flour for later use! Easy and delicious.
I hope you love this recipe, any questions leave them below! x
Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 250 g caster sugar
- 250 g self raising flour
- 5 medium eggs
- Zest of 2 lemons (2tsp lemon extract)
Drizzle
- 75 ml lemon juice
- 75 g caster sugar
Decoration
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1-2 tsps lemon juice
- Lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180C/160C Fan - grease and line your 2lb loaf tin!
- Beat together your butter and sugar together until light and creamy!
- Add in your flour, eggs and lemon and beat again until combined. It'll be a smooth cake mixture!
- Add the mix into the cake tin and bake. This can take 55-65 minutes - but check from 50 minutes onwards.
- Towards the end of baking - in a bowl, mix together your 75ml lemon juice and 75g caster sugar together.
- Once the cake is baked, drizzle this over the cake, whilst still in the tin. Let the cake cool fully.
- Once the cake is cooled, remove from the tin.
- If you want to decorate, mix in lemon juice to your icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
- Drizzle this over the cake, and sprinkle on some lemon zest for decoration! Enjoy!
Notes
- I use this loaf tin!
- If it helps, I also use this baking parchment in my bakes!
- As mentioned in the post, if you are using large eggs - use four large eggs, and 240g flour, sugar, butter.
- If your cake sinks, it hasn't finished baking! Loaf tin baking times can vary so check on the cake from 50 minutes onwards.
- This cake will last for 4-5 days at room temp! I store it in a cake storage tin.
- You can easily water down the icing for the drizzle with water instead, but the lemon juice is more zingy!
- If you want to make a smaller cake you can - reduce it down by one medium egg, and use 200g of ingredients. Or even reduce by two eggs, and use 150g of ingredients. The fewer the ingredients the quicker the bake time!
ENJOY!
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J x
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Hi Jane,
I love this recipe have used it lots before!! Just wondering if I can make the cake batter today and keep it in the fridge until tomorrow and bake it then? Would that work or would it ruin the rise of the cake?
Thank you!!
I always recommend using fresh cake batter xx
The most beautiful lemon drizzle cake. This was the first time I’ve tried to bake a cake, and it was so easy. I used a 2lb tin and probably filled it a little more the 2/3 so it took an extra 10/15 minutes to bake.
Absolutely delicious. Simple ingredients, simple technique and turned out well.
I have a question. My loaf took about 50-53 minutes. However it started browning earlier and by the time I took it out, it was dark brown (looked somewhat burnt). When I cut it, the inside was perfectly fine. Any advice? Would covering with foil half way etc work?
Thank you
Hiya! So glad you loved it. Yes best thing to do with this is to turn the heat down and cover it in foil!x
Hi I made this today using the tin you recommend. My cake domed in the middle, (rise more). Is there a reason it would do this as followed recipe to a t.
Many thanks
Hiya – loaf cakes classically do dome, so there’s nothing to change!
Hi Jane
I love this recipe and am now thinking of switching the lemon to orange and finishing off with a little chocolate drizzled over instead of the icing.. A kind of Jaffa cake. Would this work? X
Yes that would be yummy! x
Hi Jane,
I’ve made the sponge a number of times and iced it. However, the first time I added the lemon drizzle to the loaf after taking it out of the oven it seemed to result in my cake sinking 🙁 so I’ve not dared try again. Any reason why it might do this? Thanks!
The cake might have needed longer baking xx
Can I use this mixture as a traybake in a 8inch square tin ?
Hi Jane, thank you for your reply, if I half the recipe for a 1lb tin instead of 2, how long would you recommend baking it for please? X
Perfect lemon drizzle! Loaf tins are strange beings so with my 2lbs tin 2/3s full I still had enough for 6 cupcakes, they went down a storm. The cupcakes were baked in cake cups and took 25 mins to bake if anyone’s wondering 🙂 delicious recipe as per thanks Jane xx
I used a 2lb loaf tin as in the recipe, but while baking my batter overflowed!
Do you usually fill the loaf tin halfway, as mine was nearly till the top?
Hiya! As mentioned on the post, some 2lb loaf tins are smaller than others. Only fill to a maximum of 2/3rds xx
Hi Jane! I want to use up some lemon extract I brought. Can I substitute the lemon zest with extract? If so how many teaspoons please? Thank you!
Sorry I was so busy reading the comments I didn’t even check the recipe which states 2 teaspoons!
Hiya! Yes you can you would need 1-2 teaspoons xx
Hi
For the icing can you use half lemon juice and half water ?
Yes! Just add a really small amount at a time so you get the right thickness x
Hi,
How did you make your icing on the top of the cake look so white? I following the recipe and it made a icing with a more clear colouration?
Thankyou
Amelia
Hi Jane. Would this be ok with some raspberries & or blueberries in?
Hiya! I personally have not tried this – but it is definitely worth a go! Let me know! x
Hi Jane,
Could this be turned into a round cake making two batches? What size tin would you recommend
Thanks
Made this in the afternoon after a long cycle and it was just what I needed! I added some lemon juice to the batter as well (not much, just 1/2 a lemon) and it came out perfectly. Added a couple of mins to the baking time and tented it with foil at 50 mins but it rose well and was a hit with the whole family.
I was thinking about adding elderflower cordial to this! How much would you recommend and when should I add it to the recipe?
Hey! Have a look at my lemon and elderflower cake for inspiration because I add it to the drizzle in that xx
Hi Jane, thanks so much for sharing so many amazing recipes! I love this lemon drizzle cake. Just wondering if there’s a reason why there’s no additional baking powder in this recipe or any other of your loaf cake recipes? For a standard round cake I would always add a teaspoon of baking powder. Would it work in this recipe?
Thank you!
Hey! Ahh you are so welcome I am glad you love this cake! You just don’t need to use baking powder in loaf cakes xx
Hi Jane could this be changed to create a lime drizzle cake 🎂
Hey, yes it can xx