Lemon Drizzle Cake
This is the cake that never made it to the second day. Granny baked it "for the tin" — in theory a week of lunchbox slices — and in practice it vanished the same afternoon, still faintly warm, the crunchy top picked at by every passing hand.
The whole trick happens in one minute at the end: the drizzle goes over the cake while it's hot. Prick it all over, spoon over the lemon-and-sugar slush, and something lovely happens — the juice sinks in and keeps the sponge damp and sherbety, while the sugar stays on the surface and sets into a crackly, crunchy crust. Use granulated sugar, not caster; the bigger crystals are the crunch.
One bowl, one loaf tin, no icing skills required. If the tin lasts until Thursday, you have more willpower than we do.
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Soft buttery sponge soaked in tangy syrup, with the crunchy sugar top that makes it.
Ingredients
For the cake
- 225 g soft butter
- 225 g caster sugar
- 4 eggs, room temperature
- 225 g self-raising flour
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 2 tbsp milk
For the drizzle
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 85 g granulated sugar
Method
- Heat the oven. Preheat to 180°C (fan 160°C / gas 4). Butter and line a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin.
- Cream. Beat the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy — a proper 3–4 minutes.
- Eggs & flour. Beat in the eggs one at a time (a spoon of flour with the last two stops curdling). Fold in the rest of the flour, the zest and the milk.
- Bake. 45–50 minutes until golden and a skewer comes out clean. No peeking before 40.
- Drizzle hot. Stir the lemon juice into the granulated sugar — a wet slush, not dissolved. Prick the hot cake all over and spoon it on slowly. Cool completely in the tin.
Prick right to the corners and edges — anywhere the skewer doesn't go, the syrup won't follow.
Tips for the perfect drizzle
Hot cake, cool syrup
The drizzle only soaks properly into a hot cake. Straight from the oven, prick and pour.
Granulated, not caster
Big crystals don't dissolve — they sit on top and set into the crackly crust everyone fights over.
Cool in the tin
Moving it early cracks the crust and loses the syrup. Patience — total patience — then lift out.
Questions, answered
Why didn't my drizzle top go crunchy?
Use granulated sugar (not caster or icing) and don't stir until it dissolves — you want a wet, sandy slush. Poured over a hot cake, the juice soaks in and the crystals stay on top and set crisp.
Why did my cake sink in the middle?
Usually the oven door was opened too early, or the batter was overbeaten after the flour went in. Fold gently, and don't peek before 40 minutes.
How long does it keep?
The syrup keeps it moist a good 4–5 days in an airtight tin — arguably better on day two. Freezes well for 3 months, drizzle and all.