Lemon Drizzle Sponge Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch non-stick loaf pan.
• In a medium mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with a wooden spoon (or use an electric mixer). Gradually beat in the eggs and mix until light and fluffy. Stir in the lemon zest, flour, and baking powder, and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice and mix well again. Then beat in the milk.
• Pour the cake batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.
• In the meantime, mix the remaining lemon juice and the confectioner's sugar together in a small bowl to make a glaze.
• When it's ready, take the cake out of the oven and cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then turn it out onto a plate. Pierce the top of the cake all over with a thin skewer. Spoon the lemon glaze carefully and evenly over the cake until all of it is absorbed. Ready to eat.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Measure ingredients into bowls. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper.
• Combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar and butter in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until creamy and pale. Add 1 egg at a time, beating until the batter returns to a uniform pale color before adding the next. Sift in flour gradually. Fold with a wooden spoon to be sure flour is combined. Add baking powder and lemon zest.
• Pour batter into the prepared pan, being careful not to press it down.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Try not to open the oven door early to avoid collapsing the fluffy cake.
• Juice the zested lemon into a small bowl. Add the zest and juice of the second lemon. Stir in 7 tablespoons sugar until dissolved. Pour glaze over the warm cake and leave to cool in the pan; glaze will harden as the cake cools.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180C/ 160C fan/ Gas 4. Grease and line a 1.2 litre loaf tin (22cm x 13cm width, 7cm depth) with baking parchment. Mix together the flour, baking powder, xylitol and lemon zest in a large bowl.
• Mix the eggs, sunflower oil, milk and yoghurt together in a separate bowl or jug and stir them into the flour mixture.
• Spoon into a tin and smooth the surface. Transfer to the oven immediately, bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 1 hour - 1 hour 10 mins. Check after 50 mins, if the cake is becoming too dark, cover loosely with foil.
• Just before the end of cooking time, make the drizzle by heating the lemon juice and xylitol. Stir over a low heat until the xylitol has dissolved. Once the cake is cooked, take it out of the oven and pour over the drizzle.
• Cool in the tin before turning it out.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.
• Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.
• For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first - it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.
• Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn't need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Line a 20 x 20cm square baking tin with baking parchment.
• Using an electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar together until pale, light and fluffy. Add the eggs and mix again. Add the flour, baking powder, lemon zest, lemon curd and milk, and mix with a wooden spoon until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
• Mix the sugar and lemon juice together and pour over the hot cake. Leave to cool in the tin. You can eat the cake as it is, or for a fancy finish, try making this feather icing.
• Mix the icing sugar with just enough water to give a runny, but not watery, icing. Put a small amount of icing in a separate bowl. Add a few drops of the food colouring to the icing until pale yellow. Spoon into a disposable icing bag.
• Remove the cake from the tin and peel off the baking parchment. Sit the cake on a wire rack over a baking tray. Spread the white icing over the top. Pipe thin lines of the coloured icing across the width of the cake. Use a cocktail stick to drag through the lines in opposite directions to create a feathered effect. Leave to set before cutting into slices.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4.
• Beat together the butter and caster sugar until pale and creamy, then add the eggs, one at a time, slowly mixing through.
• Sift in the self-raising flour, then add the lemon zest and mix until well combined.
• Line a loaf tin (8 x 21cm) with greaseproof paper, then spoon in the mixture and level the top with a spoon.
• Bake for 45-50 mins until a thin skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
• While the cake is cooling in its tin, mix together the lemons juice and caster sugar to make the drizzle.
• Prick the warm cake all over with a skewer or fork, then pour over the drizzle - the juice will sink in and the sugar will form a lovely, crisp topping.
• Leave in the tin until completely cool, then remove and serve. Will keep in an airtight container for 3-4 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.