How to Make Lemon Drizzle Cake

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease and line a 900 g loaf tin. Beat the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Fold in the flour, lemon zest, and milk.

Pour the batter into the tin and smooth the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes until golden, risen, and a skewer comes out clean. Preheat equipment fully and use a food thermometer for meat and reheated dishes — visual cues alone are unreliable, and the FSA recommends core temperatures above 70 °C for two minutes when reheating. Note what worked in a phone memo so you can repeat the process faster next time.

While the cake bakes, mix the lemon juice with the granulated sugar. Stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved but still slightly grainy. Lay out everything you need within arm's reach and read the full sequence once before starting make lemon drizzle cake — missing a single tool mid-task is the main reason simple jobs overrun their time estimate. Note what worked in a phone memo so you can repeat the process faster next time.

Remove the cake from the oven and pierce all over with a skewer while still in the tin. Slowly pour the lemon drizzle over the surface, letting it soak in. Work steadily through this part of make lemon drizzle cake, pausing to double-check your work against the goal before moving on — most mistakes are caught when you slow down at transitions between stages. Note what worked in a phone memo so you can repeat the process faster next time.

Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before removing and slicing. The topping will set into a crisp, tangy glaze. Work steadily through this part of make lemon drizzle cake, pausing to double-check your work against the goal before moving on — most mistakes are caught when you slow down at transitions between stages. Note what worked in a phone memo so you can repeat the process faster next time.