lemon drizzle cake

Lemon drizzle cake is a classic cake in the UK and one that I hadn’t previously made. I had a hankering for it though, after a friend referred to it in passing. I was going to look for a Nigel Slater recipe but then I remembered that Felicity Cloake had looked at it as part of her “how to make the perfect…” series for the Guardian, so decided to try her version. 

It was very good and my friends who tried it all asked for the recipe. I really like the addition of ground almonds both for the texture and moistness it brings to the cake. I did add more lemon zest to the cake than the recipe asks for, just because I wanted to use up an extra lemon.

Felicity Cloake's perfect lemon drizzle cake

175g butter, softened

175g caster sugar

2 unwaxed lemons (abby note: I used 3)

3 eggs

100g self-raising flour

75g ground almonds

A little milk

100g demerara sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Grease and line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper. Beat together the butter, caster sugar and the finely grated zest of 1 lemon(abby note: I used the zest from 2) until light and fluffy. Add a pinch of salt and the eggs, one at a time, beating until well combined before adding the next.

Sift over the flour and fold in, followed by the almonds. Add just enough milk to bring the mixture to a dropping consistency (so that it falls off the spoon), then spoon into the prepared tin and even out the top. Bake for about 50-55 minutes, until a skewer comes out dry (crumbs clinging to it are fine).

Briefly mix together the remaining lemon zest, and the juice of both the lemons with the demerara sugar, then poke holes all over the top of the warm cake and pour over the drizzle, waiting for the cake to absorb one lot before adding the next.

Allow to cool in the tin before turning out.