Lemon Drizzle Cake is an easy lemon bundt with a distinctive crunchy lemon glaze. You only need a few basic ingredients to make this lovely lemony dessert.
lemon drizzle cake: the perfect lemon dessert?
Lemon drizzle cake is a classic British sponge cake infused with lemon flavor and topped with a sweet-tart lemon syrup or glaze that soaks into the cake, giving it a moist texture and intense citrus flavor. The unique crunchy glaze on this lemon bundt makes it especially delicious.
Lemon drizzle cake has been a staple in British baking for decades, however, Mary Berry’s signature simple, foolproof recipe helped make it one of the most beloved home-baked cakes in the UK ~ and now in the US!
When it comes to cakes of all kinds, I’m all about the texture. This one has a delicate crumb that stays nice and moist thanks to the glaze. It acts as a barrier to keep the cake from drying out, so I recommend you don’t slice the cake until you’re ready to serve.
lemon drizzle cake ingredient notes
- lemons
- you’ll need 2 for the rind and juice
- self rising flour
- easily made yourself if you don’t have access to it Just multiply the basic formula for the amount of flour you need. Blend together:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- sugar
- butter
- large eggs
- milk
- baking powder
kitchen tool spotlight: a great basic bundt pan
Bundt pans come in all sorts of wonderful shapes and sizes, which is great, except that you never know how your pan is going to work with a specific recipe. I like to use this one from Wilton which is a basic, all purpose pan that’s sturdy, nonstick, and a standard size, with a 10 cup capacity.
There’s a time and place for intricate shapes, but the streamlined design of this pan will never let you down, and always releases the cake perfectly.
Pan prep is key to a perfectly released lemon drizzle
- Always use a nonstick pan, and replace old or scratched pans regularly.
- Butter the pan generously, making sure to get all the nooks and crannies
- Also add a thin dusting of flour.
- Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes after baking ~ set a timer!
- Run a thin offset spatula or other flexible knife along all the edges, including the center tube, to loosen before flipping the pan over to release the cake.
lemon drizzle cake serving suggestions
The cake is a lovely golden color, and every time the knife goes through that crunchy lemon glaze it creates a beautiful crackled texture, so there’s no need for any bells and whistles.
If you’re serving it for a special occasions like Easter brunch or a wedding shower you might surround it with simple edible flowers like pansies, or lavender sprigs. You can also place a very small glass or vial into the center of the cake and fill it with delicate flowers for a beautiful effect.
the bottom line
This cake is on the smaller side as bundts go, but that works well because it’s got the perfect cake to glaze ratio. The cake itself has a gentle lemon flavor from the zest in the batter, and the glaze gives it that one two punch from the juice.
Every lemon dessert exploits the flavor of the fruit in a unique way
- My Lemon Layer Cake and Raspberry Lemon Cake feature a super tangy lemon frosting.
- My Whole Meyer Lemon Bars and Flourless Whole Meyer Lemon Cake recipes actually use the entire fruit.
- My super popular Lemon Olive Oil Cake is a whole new way of experiencing lemon!
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Lemon Drizzle Cake
Equipment
- a standard bundt pan
Ingredients
- 1 1/8 cup sugar
- rind of 2 small or 1 large lemon, peeled with a vegetable peeler, yellow part only
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 4 Tbsp milk
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 1/4 cups self rising flour, (see below to make your own self rising flour.)
crunchy glaze
- 1 cup sugar
- juice of 2 lemons
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour a standard 9 or 10 cup bundt pan
- First make the lemon sugar: put the sugar and lemon peels in a food processor and process until the zest is completely incorporated in to the sugar. It will be pale yellow, moist, and fragrant. Note: if you don't have a food processor, the finely grate the zest of two lemons and mix into the sugar by hand.
- Put the sugar and butter into the bowl of a stand mixer, or you can mix by hand with electric beaters. Cream them together for 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary. It should be pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one by one.
- Blend in the milk, then the baking powder, and finally fold in the flour. Don't over mix, but make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
- Spoon the batter into your prepared pan and spread out evenly. Bake for 35 minutes, or until risen, golden, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out without wet batter on it. The top should spring back when lightly touched.
- Let the cake cool for 12 minutes, then run a thin offset spreading knife around the edges to gently loosen them. Loosen the cake around the center neck of the pan, soo. Gently flip the cake over onto a cooling rack.
- Meanwhile, mix the sugar with enough lemon juice to make a loose paste, about the consistency of a runny honey. Brush the glaze liberally over the entire surface of the cake (while it is still warm!) going over it more than once if necessary. You'll want a thick even coating. Let the icing dry before slicing.
Notes
How to make your own self-rising flour
Just multiply the basic formula for the amount of flour you need. I like to make a larger batch to keep on hand.- 1 cup flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
Nutrition
Can I use oil instead of butter?
I haven’t tried that but generally with a cake made with creamed butter subbing oil will make it denser. You’d use about 3/4 the amount of the butter when substituting oil.
The cake was very nice, tasty and lemony. I feel like the icing should have been made with confectioners sugar rather than regular. It gave the cake a crunchy texture that didn’t seem right. I would make it again with different icing.
Sue: I don’t have a bundt pan. Can Mary’s lemon drizzle be baked in two loaf pans instead? If so, how long would the bake time be?
Thank you…
Hi Diane ~ this is a smaller amount of batter, so it’s a little bit tough to know the conversion to loaves for sure. It won’t make 2 standard loaves, I don’t think. So for two smaller loaves I’d check them at 20 minutes and go from there.
Would like to try out your lemon drizzle recipe
however does not convert to metric!
Please check.
Strange, there’s a glitch of some sort I’ll have to check into it. In the meantime, here are the metric measurements: 225g sugar, 227g butter, 281g self rising flour, 200g sugar (for the glaze.)
Thank you so much for help
hope you sort out your glitch..
This came out fantastic when followed to the T. Will be remaking this regularly.
Don’t ow what I did wrong, this cake was supposed dry, therefore I’ll not make it again.
Sorry it didn’t work for you Brenda, if you give me more details I can help you troubleshoot.