This is the perfect lemon drizzle cake. Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Cake! A soft and fluffy loaf with a tangy lemon syrup and topped with a bright and fresh lemon drizzle icing. You'll never buy a slice of Starbucks lemon drizzle again! And of course, all ingredients are from Aldi!
There are very few things more British than a sweet, fluffy and tangy lemon drizzle cake. It's a coffee house and tea room staple and probably the most ordered and made cake in all of Britain. And it doesn't get much better and easier than this one bowl, 6 ingredient recipe.
Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Cake
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Ingredients needed
- lemons
- eggs
- butter
- self-raising flour
- sugar
- icing sugar
Step by step instructions
- Always start baking with ingredients that are at room temperature. This makes everything easier to mix and ensures that the ingredients are easier to work with. As with most cakes that use butter, this recipe requires you to cream the butter and sugar so that they are nice and light & fluffy and turn a pale yellow colour. I start by mixing the butter by itself before adding in the sugar just to be sure that I get a lot of aeration in the butter = fluffier cake and tender crumb.
- Add in the sugar and whip again. I use an electric hand whisk for most of my baking. If you have a stand mixer then by all means, please use it. But many (most?) people don't have a stand mixer and I want people to see and feel confident with the results that they can get with the equipment that they have.
- Once the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, add in the eggs and mix with the electric whisk again. At this point, the mix will more than likely look split. Don't worry. This is perfectly normal and adding in the flour, will bring it all back together.
- Add in the flour and the lemon zest. For this part, I use a wooden spoon or a spatula, for 2 reasons. 1. It can be easy to overmix the batter at this point and end up with a tough cake. 2. Using a hand whisk will almost guarantee that you end up with flour everywhere but in the cake batter.
Baking the perfect cake
Baking the perfect cake doesn't have to be difficult, but there are a few key tips and tricks to make sure that you get a light and fluffy loaf every time.
Start by preheating your oven and lining your cake tin with some greaseproof paper. Spread your batter into the loaf tin and use a spoon or a small spatula to smooth and even out the surface. Bake in the preheated oven and be sure to set a timer, so you don't over bake the cake.
So many recipes will state that the way to tell if a cake is done, is to use a toothpick and poke the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, then the cake is done. However, usually by the time, the toothpick would come out clean, the cake is overbaked and will more than likely be dry. So, what we're looking for is a few moist crumbs left clinging to the toothpick.
Once the cake is out of the oven, but still warm, poke holes all over the top and pour the lemon syrup onto the cake. The syrup will sink in evenly and create a moist cake that everyone will fall in love with. Leave the cake in the tin while it absorbs the syrup so that it can catch it all.
Once the cake has cooled drizzle with the icing sugar lemon glaze and sprinkle with some lemon zest.
This cake may be simple (that's it's beauty) but it will work its way into your heart and you will find yourself making it over and over again. You'll be dropping it off at neighbours homes, bringing it to village halls and saving the last slice for yourself to have with a mug of tea. This will become your go-to simple (but impressive) cake and everyone will love you for it!
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Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 Slices 1x
Ingredients
- 225g butter, very soft
- 225g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 225g self-raising flour
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
For the lemon syrup
- 1 ½ lemons
- 85g caster sugar
For the drizzle
- juice from ½ lemon
- 100g icing sugar sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
- In a large bowl use an electric whisk to beat the butter until light and fluffy. Add in the caster sugar and whisk again until pale in colour.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, whisking after each one. See notes* Sift in the flour and add the lemon zest. Scoop the batter into the lined tin and bake in the preheated oven for about 35 minutes, until the cake is golden and springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
- Remove the cake from the oven and make the lemon syrup. Whisk the lemon juice and the sugar in a small bowl and pour over the warm cake to soak in. Leave in the tin to finish cooling completely.
- Once the cake is cooled completely remove from the tin and place on a cooling rack. Make the lemon glaze by whisking the icing sugar and the lemon juice. Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cake and sprinkle with some lemon zest.
Notes
- Once the butter and sugar are light and fluffy, add in the eggs and mix with the electric whisk again. At this point, the mix will more than likely look split. Don't worry. This is perfectly normal and adding in the flour, will bring it all back together.
- Category: Easy Baking
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: loaf, lemon drizzle, cake, Mary Berry
THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING AND COOKING ALONG WITH ME! IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE OR HAVE A QUESTION, I’D LOVE IT IF YOU LEFT A COMMENT AND A RATING. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW ALONG ON PINTEREST, FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO SEE WHAT WE’RE EATING, PINNING AND A LITTLE BEHIND THE SCENES TOO!
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