Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake! – Back to Basics!
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This classic lemon drizzle loaf cake features a melt-in-the-mouth lemon sponge, a deeply soaking sugar-and-juice drizzle, and a vibrant icing glaze. Prep takes 15 minutes, it bakes in 55 to 65 minutes, and it stays perfectly moist for days without dropping or sinking.
The golden ratio
This sponge is built upon the traditional equal-weight structure where the fat, sugar, flour, and eggs balance each other perfectly. Because domestic egg sizes vary considerably, the most accurate way to guarantee a flawless rise is to weigh your eggs in their shells first, then match that exact weight in butter, caster sugar, and self-raising flour.
As a general rule of thumb:
Medium eggs: 5 medium eggs weigh approximately 250g, which aligns perfectly with the standard quantities listed in the recipe card below.
Large eggs: If you only have large eggs in your fridge, 4 large eggs usually weigh around 240g. If using large eggs, adjust your butter, sugar, and flour down to 240g each to keep the chemical balance perfect.
For the all-important citrus hit, you can use either two teaspoons of high-quality natural lemon extract or the finely grated zest of two fresh lemons. If you choose fresh zest, ensure you only grate the vibrant yellow outer skin; the white pith underneath is incredibly bitter and will ruin the clean flavour of your sponge.
Selecting and lining your loaf tin
So… when you are starting with a loaf cake, you need the right tin. Loaf tins can vary greatly in size, even if they are described as being the same tin. For example, I have three different 2lb loaf tins, but they are all slightly different in how much water they can hold. Usually, this is okay as long as they are similar enough! For reference, this is the 2lb loaf tin that I use! If it helps, the exact measurements are – 24.4 x 14.4 x 6.9 cm. This may help you if your’s varies slightly!
Some loaf tins are still 2lb, but they are slightly wider and shallower, which means the bake time can vary – but baking a loaf cake is quite similar to baking a Bundt Cake. They can vary dependent on tin, just like a Bundt Cake, but usually they work out the same!
When I line the tin, I usually grease it slightly and then add parchment paper on top. I don’t then grease on top of the paper. I don’t feel the need, and if you use the correct type of baking parchment, then you definitely don’t need to do it!
Maximising the zing of lemon
To get that spectacular, mouth-puckering contrast of sweet and sharp, this recipe treats the drizzle and the decoration as two entirely separate elements:
The decorative glaze: Once the cake has cooled completely to room temperature, a separate thick mixture of icing sugar and lemon juice is drizzled across the top. This provides a sharp, visually striking white finish that prevents the cake from looking plain.
The soaking drizzle: This is a simple, cloudy syrup made from fresh lemon juice and caster sugar. It must be spooned generously over the cake while the sponge is fresh out of the oven and still piping hot. The heat opens the pores of the cake, allowing the liquid to completely saturate the crumb, locking in moisture and creating a gorgeous, crunchy sugar crust as it cools.
FAQs
Yes, you can make your own substitute easily. For this specific recipe, weigh out 245g of standard plain flour and thoroughly sift it together with 3 level teaspoons of baking powder before mixing it into your batter.
A distinct, central crack is actually the hallmark of a traditional British loaf cake! Because the outer edges of the batter set first in the narrow tin, the expanding gases inside the cake force their way up through the weakest, wettest point in the centre as it continues to rise. It is completely normal and looks beautifully rustic.
Absolutely. To adapt this for a smaller 1lb tin, simply reduce the ingredients down by a two-egg ratio: use 3 medium eggs and scale the butter, caster sugar, and self-raising flour down to 150g each. This smaller volume will bake much faster, so start checking it around the 35 to 40-minute mark.
This happens if you poke deep holes into the cake with a skewer before pouring the drizzle over it. While many recipes advise doing this, it creates direct channels that allow the liquid to bypass the crumb entirely and pool at the bottom, making the base soggy. Simply spoon the drizzle directly onto the intact, hot surface; the hot sponge will naturally draw it in like a sponge.
Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cake!
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 250 g unsalted butter
- 250 g caster sugar
- 250 g self raising flour
- 5 medium eggs
- Zest of 2 lemons (2tsp lemon extract)
Drizzle
- 75 ml lemon juice
- 75 g caster sugar
Decoration
- 50 g icing sugar
- 1-2 tsps lemon juice
- lemon zest
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180ºc / 160ºc Fan – grease and line your 2lb loaf tin!
- Beat together your butter and sugar together until light and creamy!
- Add in your flour, eggs and lemon and beat again until combined. It'll be a smooth cake mixture!
- Add the mix into the cake tin and bake. This can take 55-65 minutes – but check from 50 minutes onwards.
- Towards the end of baking – in a bowl, mix together your 75ml lemon juice and 75g caster sugar together.
- Once the cake is baked, drizzle this over the cake, whilst still in the tin. Let the cake cool fully.
- Once the cake is cooled, remove from the tin.
- If you want to decorate, mix in lemon juice to your icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency.
- Drizzle this over the cake, and sprinkle on some lemon zest for decoration!
Notes
- I use this loaf tin!
- If it helps, I also use this baking parchment in my bakes!
- This cake will last for 4-5 days at room temp! I store it in a cake storage tin.
Storage and freezing
Thanks to the wonderful moisture-retaining properties of the hot sugar-and-juice soak, this classic lemon drizzle loaf cake keeps exceptionally well and will stay beautifully soft, tender, and intensely flavourful for four to five days when stored at room temperature inside an airtight cake tin or a dedicated cake storage box.
It is highly recommended that you do not store this bake in the fridge, as the cold environment will cause the butter fats within the sponge to firm up, making the overall texture feel dense and dry. If you want to prepare this bake well in advance, the un-iced loaf cake freezes beautifully for up to three months; simply let the drizzle-soaked cake cool completely, wrap it tightly in a double layer of cling film followed by a layer of kitchen foil, and freeze, ensuring you allow it to defrost fully at room temperature before adding the fresh icing glaze.
Related recipes
Everybody knows I love a lemony bake, lemon drizzle loaf cake is just the beginning of the possibilities, there are lemon drizzle cupcakes if you need smaller, more bite-sized bakes, alternatively I have had great success with lemon drizzle traybake which have proven to be very popular.
The ultimate showstopper if it’s a special occasion and you need to demonstrate you are the expert baker I always have the lemon celebration cake, great for a birthday or anniversary.
Recipe was great and cake was gorgeous.
Will recommend to anyone as very simple recipe to
follow.
Hey… first I luv your recipes and your videos… but please help.. I’ve made a few times but my lemon drizzle loaf keeps sinking in the middle.. please help…..
Hey! Thank you so much! That sounds like it could be underbaked xx
Hi Jane,
How much cake batter should I put into my 2lb loaf tin? Is it the whole mixture or like 2/3 ?
Hey! You would need to fill the tin to 2/3 xx
Has anyone attempted to make this gluten free?
Hi Jane, question please! Once you’ve mixed the butter and sugar together, would it be better to mix the eggs in first, before adding flour and zest? First time making it and I threw it all in at the same time and beat it – should the mix be very thick? Fingers crossed it turns out okay. Thanks x
Hi Jane,
I’m wanting to make a smaller version of this, maybe a 1lb loaf tin, can I please ask what to do with the measurements of all the ingredients, would it just be a case of halving everything? Thank you x
Hey! I only make it as a 2lb so I assume halving would work but the baking time would change xx
Hi. I have bought all the ingredients but i noticed that you baked yours using a fan oven. May I know if I can bake it using non-fan (the one with top and bottom elements) kind of oven. If so, what temperature should I set my oven to and does the baking time also change?
Hello! As you can see on the recipe I give two temperatures – the 180 is a regular oven and the 160 is a fan x
Hi, could I make this recipe as an all-in-one mix rather than creaming butter and sugar etc please.
You can do, sometimes it just results in a different textured sponge!
Hi Jane! I wanted to bake this as a traybake (13×9 like all your tray baked). Can I use the same quantities to fit that tin? And as it would be shallower than a loaf tin will the cake become too soggy if i drizzle hot out of the oven or shall I wait a bit? Thank you and looking forward to trying this!
You need to follow the guidance of my G&T traybake as the measurements are different for a tin that size. And no the drizzle method stays the same x
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make came out
Perfect
Would I be able to do this in a round tin similar to the ones used in your other cake recipes such as the carrot cake?
I love lemon drizzle cake so thought I would try your recipe Jane. The cake is so easy to make and tastes absolutely delicious. So light , lovely and lemony and cooked in exactly 50 minutes. I would recommend this cake to anyone. Thank you xx
Oh My Goodness Jane – this is amazing – I can bake (sort of) so I am expanding my bakes and the explanation you have given for why you have done what you have and the reasons for 4 v 5 eggs makes so much sense and I really appreciate you taking the time to explain these bits. I am using my work colleagues as guinea pigs and 1 colleague said that LDC was his absolute favourite but I had knocked it out of the park! …so thank you 🙂
I am doing a chocolate orange version this week 🙂
The outside of mine came out slightly crispy and is too dark of a colour than I’d like – would this be because if of the butter I used, over greasing the tin, oven temp or something else? 🙁 x
It sounds like the oven was too hot – its worth lowering by like 20c and see if that helps! x
This is the most delicious lemon loaf cake I have ever tasted! I only set out to make one for a doorstop dash Mother’s Day present on Sunday and ended up making three more because of how delicious the loaf was.
Thank you so much for such a tasty recipe! I’m so excited to use your other recipes to make equally delicious treats now x
Hi Jane, do you think would it work with bluberries in the middle?
Hiii! Yes it would, 200g and coat them in flours first x