Give our Flawless Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe a go for a sweet treat. Delicious zingy lemon syrup drizzled over a lemon zested sponge cake to make it even sweeter and moist. Topped with a wonderful yet simple decoration of lemon zest & edible rose petals.
How to make Flawless Lemon Drizzle Cake
We give you step by step guide in UK & US measurements on the recipe card at the end of this page. Check out the quick simple video below.
We also give a few tips and tricks in this blog post, you are welcome to skip straight to the recipe or read through the tips we give?
How to measure cake ingredients?
Conversely, the best way to measure for your cake recipe is to do equal measurements on a measuring scale (not cups). I always measure my eggs first, then match the sugar, butter & flour to it.
In this case, my 3 medium eggs (including the shell) weighed in at 175 grams. So I used equal measures of 175g sugar, 175g butter & 175g self-raising flour.
How to Cream butter and sugar
Cream the room temperature butter and sugar together using a mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes. It will become pale and fluffy when ready. Next, add the zest of 2 lemons.
How to add egg to creamed butter and sugar?
Whisk the eggs, before adding one tablespoon at a time. Stirring between each addition helps prevent it from curdling.
Last step is to fold the flour in with a silicone spatula until well mixed.
Place mixture into a greased 20cm cake tin. Cook in a 180°C conventional (350F) / 160°C fan (320F) preheated oven for 40 minutes.
Remove and leave in tin to cool whilst you prepare the lemon drizzle syrup.
How to make lemon drizzle cake syrup?
Simply warm up the juice of 2 lemons in a small saucepan and add 75 grams of icing sugar.
Finally, poke holes all over the sponge using a cocktail stick or something similar.
Before pouring the sweet sticky lemon syrup over the top, watch as it drizzles into the sponge and down the sides!
You can serve like this or follow our easy decoration tips below.
How to decorate a Lemon Drizzle Cake?
In this case, we decorated out Flawless Lemon Drizzle cake with Lemon Zest and edible Rose Petals ( we got ours from Buy Wholefoods Online) to give it a timeless classic beauty. Looks perfect served up at a classic British Afternoon Tea party or a simple single-layered birthday cake.
Of course, you can serve straight up or top with double cream or ice cream on the side.
Check out how moist that sponge is, pure perfection in every bite! Thoroughly enjoyed by all!
📖 Step by Step Recipe
Flawless Lemon Drizzle Cake
Ingredients
- 175 grams (¾ cup) Butter - room temperture
- 175 grams (¾ cup) Caster Sugar - we used unrefined golden caster sugar
- 175 grams (1⅓ cup) Self-Raising Flour
- 3 medium Eggs - beaten (2 large)
- 2 Lemons - Zest for cake/ Juice for drizzle
- 75 grams Icing Sugar
To decorate
- ½ Lemon - zest
- Edible Rose Petal
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180°C conventional (350°F)/ 160°C fan (320°F). Line the bottom of a 20 cm cake tin with greaseproof paper and butter the sides.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together using a mixer on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until light & fluffy
- Add the zest of two lemons (save the lemons to use juice later for lemon syrup), stir in.
- Beat the eggs into a separate bowl before adding a tablespoon at a time into the creamed butter and sugar. Make sure to mix each edition between adding.
- Sift the self-raising flour in. Use a silicone spatula to gently fold the flour into the butter, sugar, lemon and egg mixture.
- Pour mixture into the cake tin and place in oven for 40 minutes. Do not open the oven to peek, it will ruin the cake! Remove from the oven and allow to cool in tin.
- Squeeze the lemon juice from the lemons you zested earlier into a small saucepan on low-medium heat.
- Add icing sugar, stir through and remove from heat.
- Remove cake from the tin, place on whatever you will be serving it on. Use a cocktail stick or thin BBQ skewer to poke holes into the sponge.
- Pour the lemon syrup all over the cake, allowing it to sink into the holes.
- Optional- Decorate with lemon zest and edible rose petals.
Video
Nutrition
We hope you enjoyed this Flawless Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe. Why not check out our Manor House Sultana Cake for your next bake? Or try our British bread pudding recipe.
Nic says
This is the ultimate Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe. All my friends love my (ok your!) cake and beg me to make it when we're getting together!
Luke and Kay says
We are delighted to hear that your friends love the Lemon Drizzle Cake! We appreciate the kind words and are glad that the recipe meets your expectations. We hope your guests continue to enjoy the cake each time it is made. Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and we look forward to being part of more gatherings! 🙂
Audrey Morrison says
I have made this recipe 4 or 5 time now and it always comes out beautifully. Love it. Very lemony. Not done the decorations so far but May do towards Christmas. This recipe works out so much better than the one I was trying which came out as a lemon drizzle cake that had sunk a lot in the middle. It did not look good. I do prefer a loaf shape though to the round shape but since I have followed your recipe it has come out really well each time. If I baked your cake in a loaf tin would I need to change anything to ensure I didn’t end up with a cake with a hole in the middle?
Kay says
Thank you Audrey for that great comment it's much appreciated 🙂
So pleased you love our lemon drizzle cake, this is one of our favourites 😉
We have never made this cake in a loaf tin but will have to try this out soon and we will let you know how its goes?
If you do make it before us please let us know how it goes?
Audrey Morrison says
I have to say that these cake is superb. I have tried several times to follow a similar recipe and bake the cake in a loaf tin and not one of them has succeeded. They tasted nice but the big sink in the middle detracted massively from its appearance which spoiled it for me. This lemon cake, cooked in a round tin, came out perfectly. I am very pleased. Success at last. I did follow the tips such as weighing the eggs and using the same quantities of flour, sugar and butter and I did only mix the butter and sugar for 2 minutes as suggested so maybe that has contributed to such a lovely lemon drizzle cake.
Luke says
Thank you Audrey for this great comment 🙂
So pleased to hear you think our lemon drizzle cake is superb!!
If you like baking cakes you might like our Manor House Sultana Cake or Chocolate Victoria Sponge Cake they are lush 😉
Enjoy!!
Alexandra says
Love lemon desserts, and this is absolutely wonderful!
Kay says
Lemon is a fave of ours too!
Christina says
This looks so delicious! I can't wait to make this.
Kasy says
Looks delish girl,cant wait to try!
Sarah James says
Lemon drizzle is my favourite cake, I love how you add edible rose petals.
Mama Maggie's Kitchen says
It looks incredibly delicious. I wish this were in front of me.
Sue says
I love anything lemon and this cake did not disappoint. Thank you!
Emily Flint says
Yum, this is such a bright and delicious cake!
Jen says
Was enjoyed by all. I added 4 tbsp of milk. Beautiful, moist, rich, delicious lemon drizzle cake. Making again today.
Annie Mason says
This looks easy and delicious, and I love lemon flavors. Detailed pictures help a lot. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Zoe says
This recipe worked out brilliantly - the lemon drizzle cake is delicious.
Deborah Vogts says
This looks really delicious. I'm hoping to try some this week for a tea party I'm having with my granddaughter.
Gillian says
I can honestly say this cake was really lovely had a slice and a cup of tea really yummy 😋
Kay says
Brilliant, glad you enjoyed xx