Lemon Drizzle Cake

 

What do Chefs do while in lockdown? …. Bake 🙂 

For Easter, I decided to re-create Missenden Abbey’s Homemade Lemon Drizzle Cake (see below for the recipe). It’s a light and moist, lemony flavoured sponge, glazed with a mouth-watering lemon drizzle icing. Perfect for beginners or advanced bakers to whip up in a flash.

So get your mixing bowl and apron at the ready as it’s easy to make, tastes delicious and is the ideal treat to go with a great cup of tea.

 

Ingredients

All you need for this is: 

  • 225g unsalted butter, softened 
  • 225g caster sugar 
  • 4 eggs, free range if possible 
  • 225g self-raising flour 
  • Finely grated zest of 3 lemons (you can use less if you don’t want it to be too strong, you could also substitute for orange zest) 

For the drizzle topping:

  • 85g caster sugar 
  • Juice of 1 and half lemons (more if you want a really lemony flavour)
Method
  1. Heat oven to 180C (fan 160C, Gas 4) 
  2. Beat together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy
  3. Add the 4 eggs one at a time, slowly mixing though. Chef tip – crack the eggs into a bowl first to avoid shell getting into the mixture 
  4. Add the flour and lemon zest and mix well until combined 
  5. Chef tip – grease and line your tin before adding the mixture
  6. Add the mixture to your choice of loaf tin or cake tin (remember – if the mixture is shallow it may take less time to cook)
  7. Bake for 45-50 mins until the skewer or knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
  8. While the cake is cooling, mix together the lemon juice and sugar to make the drizzle.
  9. Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork.
  10. Use a pastry brush to add the mixture gradually and allow it to be absorbed. Add in layers until all the drizzle mixture has been used. 
  11. Leave in the tin until cool then remove and serve. 
  12. Will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to one month 
  13. Enjoy! 

Philip Child – Head Chef

 

Is Lemon Drizzle Cake the UK’s Favourite Afternoon Treat?

Victoria sponge cake, chocolate cake and carrot cake are all favourites when it comes to an afternoon treat, but the Lemon Drizzle Cake is on the rise and increasingly becoming the preferred choice of cake.

 

But where did this cake come from?

Unfortunately, it is unknown where the Lemon Drizzle Cake originated from, however cake historians believe it derived from the pound cake, which was first baked in England in the 17th Century. A pound of each ingredient (butter, eggs, flour and sugar) was used to make a simple, heavy cake to feed large groups of people.

Then experimenting with unique flavours began, where ingredients like orange zest and lemon zest were added to give a rich and delicious flavour.

 

So we challenge you to bake the perfect Lemon Drizzle Cake. It would be great to see you have a go, so please email your lemon drizzle cake pictures to marketing@missendenabbey.ltd.uk and if you add your pictures to social media, don’t forget to tag us!

We can’t wait to welcome you back to the Abbey to come and try our delicious afternoon tea where our cakes are homemade and you can try our exquisite Lemon Drizzle Cake.