After seeing this recipe pop up far too often, I finally decided to crack out my whisk and give it a go! Oh yes, the infamous Lemon Drizzle Cake. It seemed simple enough to make on short notice and only required a speedy rummage around in the cupboards to find what was needed. Basically, the perfect summer treat to accompany a cold glass of white at the Sunday Rüdesheimer Platz wine festival.
For just such an occasion, last Saturday night, I put on some shoulder shimmying tunes and preheated my oven to 180°C. The recipe I followed (or intended to..) was from Anna Newton’s blog The Anna Edit. I have a tendency to drift slightly when it comes to instructions and this was no exception. Sometimes the results are catastrophic, but this time it all worked out quite well! I’ll share the original ingredients list as well as my modifications so you can decide what best suits your gastronomical needs.
Here’s what you’ll need for the lemon drizzle cake:
Original
My Version
- 225g of salted butter
- 225g of granulated sugar
- 275g of self-raising flour
- 1 tsp of baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 4 tbsp of milk
- Grated zest of 2 lemons
- 225g of salted butter
- 225g of granulated sugar
- 275g of self-raising flour
- 1tsp of baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 a cup of milk
- Grated zest of 2 lemons
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Here’s what you’ll need for the glaze:
Original
My Version
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 175g of granulated sugar
- Juice of 2 lemons
- 50g of granulated sugar
- 50g of powdered sugar
Clearly, there was a slight difference with the last ingredients. The vanilla and pinch of salt were just for good measure – in my eyes, no cake is complete without these two. For the eggs, milk and lemon juice situation however, it was a complete accident.
I was adding the milk, one tablespoon at a time, but couldn’t figure out why my batter was still so dry. Naturally, I added a few more, until I had reached the perfect consistency. I also slipped in a little lemon juice to enhance the flavour. Then it hit me : THE EGGS! I had completely forgotten about them. Out of fear it would become too liquid, I only added two instead of four.
I then popped it in the oven for 40 minutes, checking it with a knife every so often as I didn’t know if it would take as long as the original recipe. About three quarters of the way through, I cranked up the heat to 200°C. The lemon drizzle cake came out beautifully !
I set the cake out on a plate and started poking it with a wooden skewer, before pouring over the sweet lemon glaze, for which I used two kinds of sugar instead of one, simply because I didn’t have enough granulated sugar on hand. Honestly, I want to start poking holes in every glazed cake going forward as it makes it so much more moist.
All in all, this was a huge success! I gave some to my 80+ year old neighbour and she loved it! The ultimate seal of approval.
2 Responses to “Neighbour Approved: Lemon Drizzle Cake”
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