This Lemon Cake is soaked in a sweet lemon glaze while it's still warm, so every slice is unbelievably moist and bursting with citrus flavor.
Reader Review:
This Lemon Drizzle Cake truly captures the essence of a British tea-time classic! The easy recipe delivers a super moist cake bursting with fresh lemon flavor. It's a delightful treat that brings a touch of tradition and a lot of deliciousness to any tea time. Thanks for sharing!!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Nanajee
When it comes to lemon cake, I've found that so many recipes fall short - either too dry, too sweet, or lacking that punch of real lemon flavor. That's why I worked on perfecting this version: a soft, buttery lemon loaf that's drenched in a tangy lemon syrup while still warm, so every slice stays incredibly moist and bursting with bright citrus.
This homemade lemon cake gives you results you could never get from a store-bought version - the crumb is so moist I'd almost describe it as juicy, and the flavor is fresh and vibrant rather than cloying or artificial. It's simple to make, but delivers bakery-quality results you can rely on every time. With real lemon juice and zest doing all the work, this is the kind of classic, foolproof recipe that finally tastes as good as you've always wanted it to.
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Why This Is The Best Lemon Cake Recipe
- Super moist lemon cake from the lemon glaze that soaks into the cake.
- Easy recipe with just a few simple ingredients.
- It's a very transportable cake, so you can easily pack it for picnics or lunches.
What Is Lemon Loaf Cake?
Lemon Loaf is a tender cake full of real lemon flavor, baked inside a loaf pan. In particular, this version is a Lemon Drizzle Cake, which is a British tea-time classic. What makes it special is that it has little holes poked in it after baking, and a lemon glaze poured over it while it's still warm, so it can soak into the cake and make sure every bite is soft, moist, and bursting with citrus flavor.
Ingredients for Lemon Cake
This easy lemon cake recipe has basic, natural ingredients - unlike the popular lemon loaf cake you'll find in Starbucks!
- Butter - Use unsalted butter and make sure it is at room temperature before beginning.
- Sugar - Regular white sugar is great here, preferably superfine (caster sugar in the UK).
- Eggs - Use large eggs and always free-range if you can. Bring to room temperature before using.
- Flour - This recipe calls for all-purpose flour (plain flour). Classic lemon drizzle cake calls for self-raising flour, but since it's harder to find outside of the UK I have adapted the recipe to use all-purpose flour instead.
- Baking Powder - This helps the loaf cake to rise, if you use self-raising flour, leave out the additional baking powder.
- Lemons - Whether you use medium or large lemons, there should be plenty of lemon zest If you use small lemons, maybe add an extra one to make sure get that intense lemony flavor. If possible, try to buy unwaxed lemons as you will be using the zest of the lemons. If you can't find unwaxed lemons, just soak the lemons in hot water for 5 minutes and then rub thoroughly with a dish towel.
- Powdered Sugar - We'll use powdered sugar (icing sugar) to make the easy lemon glaze that is going to soak into the cake.
Get the full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Measuring Ingredients
I always recommend weighing your ingredients with a kitchen scale, rather than using measuring cups. It's very difficult to measure accurately with cups and this can mess up your bakes.
Recommended Equipment
- 8-inch Loaf Pan - Mine is a 1 lb loaf tin.
- Mixer - I used a stand mixer, but an electric mixer would also work.
- Zester
- Juicer - I can't stop raving about the Fluicer from Dreamfarm.
- Skewer - for poking holes for the glaze to seep into.
How To Make Lemon Cake
Zest and Juice Lemons
Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C (160°C fan oven) and line an 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Zest your lemons into a small bowl and set aside. Then juice the same lemons and set the juice aside separately.
Cream Butter and Sugar
Cream the softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. I like to use my stand mixer for this, but you could use an electric mixer too.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Dry Ingredients
Sift in the dry ingredients, including flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix them gently until totally incorporated (lowest speed on mixer).
Then add the fresh lemon zest and mix it until evenly dispersed through the cake mixture.
Fill Cake Pan
Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. It will be quite a thick batter.
Bake
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be domed slightly and the top should be golden brown.
Remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer or cocktail stick to poke holes all over the cake, all the way down to the bottom. This is to allow the lemon glaze to seep into the cake to make it extra moist.
Make Lemon Glaze
Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, then gradually add the squeezed lemon juice from earlier, a little at a time, mixing in between until you have added enough lemon juice to make a runny glaze.
Drizzle Glaze
While it's still in the pan, pour the lemon glaze all over the top of the cake. You want to do this about 10 minutes after taking the cake out of the oven, as pouring it on a warm cake will allow the drizzle to seep into the lemon cake properly and give it that juicy texture.
Cool
Let the cake cool before lifting it out of the loaf pan.
Thicker Glaze
If you'd like another, thicker layer of glaze on top as well, more like classic icing, wait until the cake has cooled and repeat the steps for the glaze again, but with less lemon juice. Pour the thick lemon icing over the cool cake after removing it from the pan.
Troubleshooting
Though this is a very easy lemon cake recipe, there are a few common mistakes I see people making when trying it. Here are some things to avoid:
Opening the oven too soon - If you open the oven door before the cake is baked, the sudden temperature change could cause the cake to collapse and sink in the middle. Try to wait at least 40 minutes before opening the oven to check on your cake.
Under or overbaking the lemon cake - If you don't bake the cake long enough, it will be stodgy and raw in the middle. Equally, an overbaked lemon cake will be dry. Bake times vary massively depending on a variety of factors, so once your cake looks baked on top, check it regularly with the skewer until the skewer comes out clean.
Pouring the drizzle at the wrong time - The best time to pour the glaze is 10 minutes after the cake comes out of the oven. Too soon and it will run right through the cake and out the bottom of your pan, and too late and it won't seep in at all and will just sit on top.
Lemon Loaf Variations
Adding fruit - Add some fresh berries into the cake batter, like in my Lemon Raspberry Cake (which is a Lemon Bundt Cake). Or add some blueberries for a Lemon Blueberry Cake.
Lemon Poppyseed Drizzle Cake - Add some poppyseeds to the mix and the glaze for some extra pizzazz.
Different formats - Try making this recipe in a small sheet pan for a lemon sheet cake, or even in a muffin pan to make lemon cupcakes!
Store-bought vs Homemade Lemon Cake
Did you know that the Iced Lemon Pound Cake is the second most popular dessert sold every day at Starbucks? This really surprised me when I read it because it's so easy to make a perfect lemon cake at home and without all the additives and chemicals.
Homemade lemon cake is a lot cheaper too, and tastes SO much better! So if you have stumbled across this recipe because you love lemon desserts, I urge you to give this easy lemon cake recipe a try, and I guarantee you'll never settle for store-bought ever again! And in case you are curious, the number one spot at Starbucks goes to Coffee Cake.
How To Store Lemon Loaf Cake
Store your moist lemon cake at room temperature in an airtight container. It will last like this for up to 5 days.
Lemon Cake Recipe FAQs
Traditionally, pound cake meant a recipe that uses a pound each of butter, sugar, flour, etc. It makes a dense cake that is sturdy when you bite into it. Loaf cakes, on the other hand, just refer to any cake baked inside a loaf pan. They can be a lot lighter and fluffier.
These days though, the terms are often used interchangeably. ,
Lemon drizzle cake is a specific kind of lemon cake that is baked in a loaf pan. What sets it apart from a standard lemon loaf is that it has holes poked in it and has a thin lemon glaze poured on top while it is still warm. This glaze soaks into the cake to make it extra moist and flavorful.
More British Desserts
This Lemon cake is a British staple baking recipe - here are some other British desserts that we make all the time:
Recipe
Lemon Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 sticks Unsalted Butter 227g (room temperature)
- 1 ⅛ cups Granulated Sugar 225g
- 4 large Eggs (room temperature)
- 1 ¾ cups All-purpose Flour 218g
- 2 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Lemons
- 1 cup Powdered Sugar 120g
Equipment
Instructions
- Line an 8-inch loaf pan with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350°F / 180°C. (or 160°C for fan oven).
- Zest the lemons, then juice them into a separate bowl. Set aside the zest and juice.2 Lemons
- Cream the softened butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.2 sticks (227 g) Unsalted Butter, 1 ⅛ cups (225 g) Granulated Sugar
- Beat the room temperature eggs into the mixture, one at a time.4 large (4) Eggs
- Sift in the dry ingredients, including the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently mix into the batter.1 ¾ cups (218 g) All-purpose Flour, 2 teaspoon Baking Powder, ½ teaspoon (½ tsp) Salt
- Add the lemon zest and mix it through the batter until evenly dispersed.
- Pour the lemon batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45-55 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer to poke holes all over the cake, all the way to the bottom.
- Sift the powdered sugar into a bowl, then gradually add the squeezed lemon juice from earlier, a little at a time, mixing in between until you have added enough lemon juice to make a runny glaze.1 cup (120 g) Powdered Sugar
- While still warm and still in the pan, pour the glaze over the top of the cake, letting it all get soaked up by the cake. For best results, pour the glaze on about 10 minutes after removing the cake from the oven.
- Let the cake cool completely before removing it from the pan.
- If you would like some additional, thicker glaze on top of the cake, you can repeat the steps to make the glaze but add less lemon juice. Pour this over the top of the cooled cake, once out of the pan.
Sasha Miel
I love the flavour of the cake and the texture however, my drizzle didnt seep into my cake at all which left my cake a bit dry. Any ideas what might have failed? My drizzle was fairly thin, like single cream and I actually drizzled after 5 mins of the cake coming out of the oven. I need a dependable LD cake so what do you think?
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Sasha,
Sorry to hear that, that's definitely not what we want for a lemon drizzle cake!
It is probably just that the powdered sugar to lemon juice ratio was off. Next time try adding more lemon juice, or if you need to thin it further, a tiny splash of water can also help.
Also make sure that the holes you poke in the cake are wide and deep enough too!
I hope next time it turns out perfectly for you 🙂
Jules
Jane
So happy to see a recipe with weights as well as cups. I’m a Brit and we tend to use scales not cups! I can’t wait to try this recipe today. Thank you.
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Jane,
I'm a Brit too and I hate the use of cups for baking as it is so inaccurate - but unfortunately a lot of people won't try a recipe if it doesn't have the cup amounts listed! I make sure to always stress how much better it is to use a scale though!
Thanks for your comment and I hope you love the Lemon Drizzle Cake when you try it!
Jules
Lee-Anne Murphy
Hi, can this cake be frozen?
Jules Grasekamp
Hi Lee-Ann,
Yes you can freeze lemon drizzle cake for up to 3 months. Make sure it's really tightly wrapped in plastic wrap so it doesn't lose any moisture.
Then when you are ready to enjoy it let it defrost in the fridge overnight and then bring it out to come to room temperature before serving.
Enjoy!
Jules
Nanajee Travels
This Lemon Drizzle Cake truly captures the essence of a British tea-time classic! The easy recipe delivers a super moist cake bursting with fresh lemon flavor. It’s a delightful treat that brings a touch of tradition and a lot of deliciousness to any tea time.
Thanks for sharing!!!!!
Su
Made it for colleagues at work, it turned absolutely perfect. Thanks for sharing. I’m never going to buy Starbucks lemon drizzle - this was way better.
Linda Smart
Always love watching your videos, so easy to follow! Always delicious recipes!
Chris Radwanski
I am unashamed in saying I at half this cake in one sitting. I have never tasted a lemon drizzle cake this delicious in my life and honestly I might ask for this as my birthday cake. 10/10 on everything, keep up the good work!
Lara Lee
One of my faves - looks so moist and fluffy! Never tried it as a traybake. Going to now!