Lemon and lime drizzle cake
So this is my take on the standard lemon drizzle, easy and quick to make and perfect if you are new to baking. I made this for a birthday and it got rave reviews. It's important that you use the zest as well as the juice and that there should be multiple layers of icing. It's lovely and messy with the icing dripping and running down the sides.... This is not a cake for tidy people!
5 people made this
Ingredients
Makes: 1 cake
- For the cake
- 2 large lemons
- 2 limes
- 230g baking spread or unsalted butter, softened
- 230g caster sugar
- 275g self-raising flour
- 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1 dash concentrated lemon juice (optional)
- 1 dash concentrated lime juice (optional)
- 4 tablespoons whole milk
- For the icing
- 100-200g icing sugar, sifted
- 1 dash concentrated lemon juice (optional)
- 1 dash concentrated lime juice (optional)
- 1 pinch salt (optional)
- candied lemon and lime peel to decorate
Method
- Zest both lemons and limes. Juice half of 1 lemon and half of 1 lime. Set to the side (you will need them for the glaze later).
- Preheat the oven to 180 C /160 C fan / Gas 4. Grease a standard loaf tin and line with baking parchment.
- Cream the butter sugar together in a large bowl using a stand mixer or hand mixer.
- Add all of the remaining cake ingredients, using a little bit of the lemon juice. Whisk on a medium speed until the cake mixture is well blended and silky soft.
- Taste the mixture. If you would like it to be more zingy then add the concentrated juices and mix well to combine. Pour it into your prepared loaf tin and tap to level.
- Bake it in the centre of your oven until your tester comes out clean and the cake is golden, about 40 minutes.
- Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes.
- For the glaze juice 1 lemon and 1 lime from the ones you have already zested. Mix the juices in a bowl and while the cake is cooling, spoon a couple of tablespoons of the glaze over the cake and let it soak in. Then take the cake out of its tin and leave to cool on the wire rack.
- Once the cake is semi-cooled pour half of the glaze all over the top of the cake.
- For the icing add a small amount of icing sugar, concentrated lemon and lime juice and salt (if using) to the remaining glaze and mix thoroughly. The first icing layer should have only a little icing sugar in it to give it colour. Pour only a little of this over the cake. It will run down the cake but that's ok.
- Then add half of the remaining icing sugar to the icing mix and again pour a little over the cake to cover it.
Add the remaining icing sugar to the mix and again mix throughly. Pour all over the top of the cake allowing it to run down the sides and onto your plate.- Roll thin strips of lemon and lime peel in caster sugar to candy them and place on top of the cake.
Tip
The icing also doesn't really need to be 3 layers, one layer will do if you are in a hurry.
