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This easy Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe works every time. It’s a fail-safe classic bake that you can whip up time and time again. 

It’s a solid, easy-to-follow recipe that’s so delicious, is made in one bowl, is ready in under an hour and produces impressive, solid results – even for beginners!

Sliced Lemon Drizzle Cake with icing topping running down the side.

This recipe for Lemon Drizzle Cake is, without doubt, one of our favourite bakes of all time. It’s a flavour that tops polls over and over again, and it always goes down a treat in every situation where cake is called for (I mean… every day?!)

I find this to be the very BEST Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe because it just works every time. It’s super zesty, lovely and moist (sorry to use that word but this calls for it), and to top it all, you can whip it up in one bowl in about 5 minutes. What’s not to love?


Why you’ll love this Lemon Drizzle Cake

⭐️ Quick and easy

⭐️ A failsafe, simple method

⭐️ Zingy and zesty to brighten your day!


Loaf-style Lemon Drizzle Cake with icing topping, sliced and ready to eat.

About this Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe

Even though I say that this is the easiest and bulletproof Lemon Drizzle recipe, I know you’ll still have questions, especially if you’re not an accomplished baker.

So this post will give you the answers on a plate (boom boom) so you not only get the results you want, but you actually enjoy the process too. 

After all, cake is to be enjoyed, and baking can be a delight when you have a little confidence. The eating isn’t so bad either! 

What do I mean by a ‘one bowl recipe’? Quite simply, you mix all of the ingredients together in one bowl before pouring it all into a loaf tin and putting it in the oven to bake.

What you’ll need for making Lemon Drizzle Cake

Flour and lemon zest in a bowl for Lemon Drizzle Cake ingredients.
  • Unsalted butter – Some for the cake, some for greasing the tin. If you only have salted, that’s fine.
  • Caster sugar – Golden caster sugar works well if you have it.
  • Eggs – I use free range. If you want to be exact, they should weigh about 250g in total (weigh in shells).
  • Self-raising flour

How to make Lemon Drizzle Cake

Raw ingredients for Lemon Drizzle Cake in a bowl. Recipe Step 1.

1. Preheat your oven to 160C, grease your loaf tin and line it, then put all your cake ingredients into a bowl.

Raw ingredients for Lemon Drizzle Cake mixed in a bowl. Recipe Step 2.

2. Beat the ingredients together until the mixture is smooth.

Lemon Drizzle Cake mixture in a loaf tin, ready to go in the oven. Recipe Step 3.

3. Spoon the mixture into your loaf tin and smooth out. Bake as per the recipe below until a skewer comes out clean.

Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe Step 3. Drizzle over icing topping.

4. Once baked, skewer some holes in your cake, make up the drizzle with icing sugar and lemon juice, then pour over your cake.

Hint: Don’t take your cake completely out of the oven when checking to see if your cake is cooked. If it’s not, it could sink. Instead, slide out on the shelf and put straight back in if needed.


More loaf cakes

If you’d like to try your hand at some other easy loaf cake recipes, you could try my Nutella Cake, Pumpkin Cake, Mini Pumpkin Bread Loaves or my Banana Cake (with chocolate chips). Or visit my cake page for other ideas. 

All are tried and tested for ultimately deliciousness and simplicity!

How to store Lemon Drizzle Cake

Store the cake in an airtight tin or container for up to 5 days. Don’t store it in the fridge or it will become quite hard.

Freezer You can freeze this cake for another day! Make sure you wrap it in a couple of layers of greaseproof paper for the freezer and defrost it at room temperature before eating.

Top tips for making Lemon Drizzle Cake

How to know it’s cooked

First, check the cake isn’t still wobbly when you move it. If it is, put it straight back in the oven. If not, push a skewer or sharp, thin knife into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, it means it’s cooked. (Some crumbs are fine, but not wet cake mixture.)

When checking your cake, just slide it out on the oven shelf rather than taking it all the way out. This is so if it’s not quite done, you can push it back in quickly before it sinks.

How to zest the lemons

The best way to zest lemons is to invest in a great zester. It will change your cake-making life! I like this Microplane Zester, which I’ve had for years and it makes the job SO easy.

What tin to use

I like to make my Lemon Drizzle Cake in a loaf tin. The sizes of these can be a bit confusing, but mine is technically a 1 lb tin. This one is the perfect size: Masterclass 1 lb Loaf Tin.

How to stop the cake from sticking

Rub softened butter all around the tin and then line it with baking paper. Be sure it’s baking paper or baking parchment, NOT greaseproof paper. They are different!

FAQ

Why has my Lemon Drizzle Cake sunk?

The most common reason for a Lemon Drizzle Cake sinking in the middle is when the oven door has been opened before the cake was set.

Be sure not to open the door before 40 minutes, and even then, do it by opening the oven door and checking it as quickly as possible!

Can I make this a gluten-free Lemon Drizzle Cake?

Yes. Just replace the flour with gluten-free self-raising flour. It may sink a little more in the middle, but it will still taste fantastic.

Can I make this a dairy-free Lemon Drizzle Cake?

You sure can. Just replace the butter with your normal favourite dairy-free baking spread.

Can I add extra icing to the Lemon Drizzle?

Yes! Make the drizzle topping with the lemon juice and then use the same amount of icing sugar again, but with less juice to make a thicker icing to go on top. Double decker ceiling for the WIN.

Can you tell me the measurements in cups please?

No, sorry! Baking relies on very specific quantities to be successful and if you use cups (which measure in volume) there’s such a big room for error, and you’d be making life so much harder for yourself as a baker. 

The best thing to do is invest in a set of digital scales and see your baking succeed every time (there are lots of low cost versions out there).

Let me know how you got on and what you thought of these recipes. Please rate the recipe using the ⭐️ below.

Also I’d LOVE to see your cooking creations. If you’d like to share yours with me, you can tag me on Instagram (@tamingtwins).

5 from 353 votes

Lemon Drizzle Cake {Easiest Ever Recipe!}

This Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe is a fail-safe method that works every time without fuss or fanfare. It’s a classic bake and tastes simply delicious.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 10 Slices

Ingredients 

Cake ingredients:

  • 250 g Unsalted butter, Plus extra for greasing your tin. See rotes.
  • 250 g Caster sugar, See notes.
  • 4 Eggs , Medium. See notes.
  • 250 g Self-raising flour
  • 3 Lemons, Zest only. (Reserve the zested fruit for the juice for the drizzle.) See notes.

For the drizzle:

  • 100 g Icing sugar

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 160C and grease your loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
  • Put all of the cake ingredients into a large bowl and beat until smooth.
  • Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth out. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

For the drizzle:

  • While the cake is still warm in the tin, use a skewer or thin sharp knife to poke holes all over it.
  • Mix the icing sugar with enough of the juice of the lemons to make a thin paste. Add the liquid gradually so it stays nice and smooth. (This is normally 1-and-a-half lemons, but will depend on how big and juicy they were!)
  • Pour all over the cake and allow to sink in.

Notes

Butter: I like to use unsalted butter for baking as it is flavourless. If you only have salted it will be fine though. It’s not vital.
Caster sugar: Golden caster sugar works well here if you have it.
Eggs: Free range please! If you want to be exact and ensure success, weigh them in their shells and they should total about 250g. 
Lemons: If you can buy unwaxed lemons, these are best as you will be eating the zest.

Nutrition

Calories: 440kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 6gFat: 22gSaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 119mgSodium: 29mgPotassium: 101mgFiber: 2gSugar: 36gVitamin A: 727IUVitamin C: 17mgCalcium: 28mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Family Food
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Sarah Rossi founder of TamingTwins.com and author of 'What's for Dinner?' books.

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72 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This was lovely. I made it with vegan butter (would recommend this for anyone as noone needs all that saturated fat) and egg replacement and it was amazing!
    As it’s only myself I halved the recipe, apart from the lemons as I like a nice kick or lemon.
    It’s perfect for me with what is effectively, double the lemon juice
    Thanks for the recipe ,😬

  2. 5 stars
    Lovely easy bake. I’m from England and was maing two cakes. For my taste, the mixture on my first cake too sweet and low on lemon flavour, so added the zest of an additional two lemons. I added the zest of 5 lemons to the second cake and decreased the sugar by 50g. (I tried to produce the amount of zest shown on the method photographs) The second cake was preferred by the adults, with the kids preferring cake one.