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The world’s best lemon drizzle cake

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A slice of lemon drizzle cake served on a plate

This is truly the zingiest, most delicious and moreish lemon drizzle cake you’ll ever make. It is wonderful!

I’ve been making this recipe for years, ever since it was emailed over to me by the lovely Jayne Crammond of Mum’s the Word, way back in 2012! Jane explained:

I chose this recipe because I spent ages trying to find a lemon cake that was…well, lemony enough! I like my lemon cake to be very zingy and moist so I ended up taking bits of different recipes and putting them together to make this one, which is probably the one and only time I’ve been vaguely inventive in the kitchen.

So does this lemon drizzle cake live up to its name? Actually, yes. It’s exceptionally’ gorgeous! Here’s what to do:

Ingredients

  • 170g (6 oz) self-raising flour
  • 170g (6 oz) caster sugar
  • 170g (6 oz) butter (or margarine)
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 3 lemons
  • 4 tbsp icing sugar

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan, 350F). Cream the sugar and butter (or margarine) together.

Cream and sugar in a mixing bowl

Cream sugar and butter together in a mixing bowl

Add both eggs and whisk in.

Eggs are added to the mixing bowl

Mixing the cake mix for this lemon drizzle cake

Sift in the flour and whisk until smooth.

Flour is added to the cake mix in a mixing bowl

Preparing the lemon drizzle cake mix

Add the zest of two lemons and the juice of one to the mixture and mix well.

Lemon zest is added to the cake mix

The lemon drizzle cake mix ready to be baked

Spoon the batter into a greased and lightly floured cake tin. I recommend using a 23cm (9in) springform tin as it makes it super easy to get your cake out of the tin cleanly.

The lemon drizzle cake batter in a springform tin

Bake at for 25-30 minutes. The cake should be golden on the outside and the skewer should come out clean – keep an eye on it as you don’t want it to over-bake.

Freshly baked lemon drizzle cake cooling on a wire rack

In a small pan, mix the juice of two of the lemons with the icing sugar.

Lemon juice and icing sugar in a saucepan

Place over a medium heat and stir as it heats, continuing until you have a syrupy texture.

Holding a glass of lemon drizzle sauce over the cooled cake

Poke holes all over the sponge with a skewer, almost down to the bottom, then take the syrup off the heat (careful, it’s hot!) and pour all over the cooling sponge.

Lemon drizzle cake in a springform tin

Allow to cool, then cut into generous slices and enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Serving slices of lemon drizzle cake

The result is a light, firm sponge that’s wonderfully lemony. Perfect.

If you’d like to print this recipe to try later, just hit PRINT on the recipe card below.

World's best lemon drizzle cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Author: Emily Leary
This is truly the zingiest, most delicious and moreish lemon drizzle cake you'll ever make. It is wonderful!
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Metric - Ounces

Ingredients

  • 170 g self-raising flour
  • 170 g caster sugar
  • 170 g butter or margarine
  • 2 medium eggs
  • 3 unwaxed lemons
  • 4 tbsp icing sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180C (160C fan, 350F). Cream the sugar and butter (or margarine) together.
  • Add both eggs and whisk in.
  • Sift in the flour and whisk until smooth.
  • Add the zest of two lemons and the juice of one to the mixture and mix well.
  • Spoon the batter into a greased and lightly floured cake tin. I recommend using a 23cm (9in) springform tin as it makes it super easy to get your cake out of the tin cleanly.
  • Bake at for 25-30 minutes. The cake should be golden on the outside and the skewer should come out clean - keep an eye on it as you don't want it to over-bake.
  • In a small pan, mix the juice of two of the lemons with the icing sugar.
  • Place over a medium heat and stir as it heats, continuing until you have a syrupy texture.
  • Poke holes all over the sponge with a skewer, almost down to the bottom.
  • Take the syrup off the heat (careful, it's hot!) and pour all over the cooling sponge.
  • Allow to cool, then cut into generous slices and enjoy with a hot cup of tea or coffee.

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 29g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 112mg | Potassium: 64mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 8% | Vitamin C: 17.3% | Calcium: 1.7% | Iron: 2.3%
* Note: nutritional information is estimated, based on publicly available data. Nutrient values may vary from those published.
Course: cakes and bakes
Keywords: cake, lemon, lemon drizzle cake
Tried this recipe?Snap a pic and tag @amummytoo on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. I can't wait to see your posts!

Yum! What do you think of this lemon drizzle cake?

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This is the ultimate lemon drizzle cake! Here's how to make the world's best lemon drizzle cake #recipe #cake #lemondrizzle

Looking for more baking inspiration? Try this apple, cinnamon and honey cake recipe next.

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  1. Jessica says

    11 June, 2019 at 11.30pm

    I have been recommended this recipe by a good baker friend and can’t wait to make it. Would it work for a birthday cake do you think? I want a 4 tier lemon cake that I can ice with buttercream frosting, thanks

    Reply

    • A Mummy Too says

      13 June, 2019 at 2.01pm

      Wonderful. I haven’t tried this use myself, but yes, it should work ok as long as you’re using supports / dowels as you usually would with a tier cake. I’d be cautious about using the drizzle, however, since this will of course soften the cake. Let me know how you get on.

      Reply

  2. Katie says

    6 June, 2019 at 4.48pm

    I have no idea what happened but my cake didn’t rise, it was more like a lemon drizzle pancake lol

    Reply

    • A Mummy Too says

      7 June, 2019 at 8.40am

      Oh dear! Couple of possibilities…either plain flour was used rather than self-raising or it’s possible the flour was old and had lost some of it’s raising agent. If it was the latter, I would have expected at least a little rise, so my money is on it being the wrong flour!

      Reply

  3. Louis John Anson says

    28 May, 2019 at 3.14am

    Hi Emily, would this be okay done in a standard loaf tin? If so would the quantities and cooking time be the same?

    Reply

    • A Mummy Too says

      7 June, 2019 at 8.44am

      Yes, should be fine, but it may alter the cooking time, so keep an eye on it and be sure to the do the skewer test to make sure it’s cooked all the way through. Since a loaf tin will be deeper, if it looks like it’s browning too much on top before the middle is cooked, pop a piece of foil over the top, but try not to open the oven until it at least *looks* done or it may well sink in the middle.

      Reply

  4. Elizabeth D'Agostino says

    14 May, 2019 at 10.57pm

    I was really pleased with how this came out, my lemons weren’t very juicy or sour but that was nothing to do with the recipe, they were just underwhelming lemons. I used a non dairy spread and the cake had a fab texture, this is going to become a favourite. Thanks for posting!

    Reply

  5. Emily says

    13 May, 2019 at 4.02pm

    It was really good recipe and was very tasty, except the centre of the cake completely collapsed, this was probably for to me doing something wrong I just wondered how to stop this from happening

    Reply

    • A Mummy Too says

      14 May, 2019 at 10.09am

      Glad it tasted good! Usually a cake deflates if the oven is opened too soon during cooking, so that might be the cause. Look for it to be golden across the whole top before opening the oven, and test with a skewer in the centre (it should come out clean) to make sure it’s cooked through

      Reply

  7. Gill Holmes says

    19 April, 2019 at 5.58pm

    Hello is this best made with butter or margarine? Ingredients say butter but instructions say margarine. Help!

    Reply

  9. Chris says

    18 March, 2019 at 3.36am

    Hi Emily Thanks for the recipe, I am going to use the recipe for my mums 93rd birthday as it’s her favourite cake. One question-I did not see any reference in your description, what size of tin do you use?
    Regards,, Chris

    Reply

  12. Deborah Salko says

    5 October, 2018 at 5.17am

    I can never handle looking at food posts . The presentation is always so appetizing! Looks delicious.

    Reply

  33. Ashley says

    2 October, 2018 at 12.25pm

    I absolutely adore lemon flavored desserts, and this cake looks amazing. I will definitely be making it in the coming weeks (if not days!) Thank you for sharing!

    Reply

  36. Diana Tidswell says

    2 October, 2018 at 10.19am

    Wow, this cake recipe looks really delicious and looks so easy to make. I will try to make this and I am sure my family would love it.

    Reply

  46. David Bennett says

    28 November, 2012 at 7.55pm

    No bite taken?

    Maybe the slice that has been tasted is outside the frame?

    I think this must be part of the art of food photography, to decide whether to show the cake part eaten or not?

    I’d love to know your view on the subject.

    Reply
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