Looking to bake an extra-moist lemon drizzle cake with the most soft and tender crumb? Then this is the recipe for you. My lemon drizzle cake delivers the right balance of sweetness and lemon zing to create the perfect pairing. Whether it’s for afternoon tea, a Mother’s Day treat, or serving a slice after dinner, the smell and flavour of this cake is tough to resist. And the secret ingredient to the extra moist, tender crumb is almond flour – but don’t tell everyone!
A quintessential British bake
Lemon drizzle cake is a lasting favourite due to its balanced flavours, soft texture, and, more importantly, it’s the perfect cake for the classic British tea-time treat. Historically evolving from the classic ‘pound cake’, it remains a relatively simple bake, but the flavour and texture are elevated with zesty lemon and that classic slightly crunchy top.
The secret ingredient: almond flour
With their naturally high fat content, the almond flour brings extra richness and moisture to the cake mix. This helps create the soft, tender crumb, and prevents the cake from drying out, which makes it last longer. We’re simply replacing some of the plain flour with almond flour. It’s an easy swap, but it results in an amazing melt-in-the-mouth texture transformation.
How long will it keep?
Due to the moistness of this cake, it will easily keep for 3-4 days in a tin. If you can manage the temptation and not finish this cake, then it’s also a great one to freeze. You can slice and wrap each piece well in greaseproof paper and then altogether in cling film, and pop it in a bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, you can either do this slowly at room temperature for 2-4 hours or overnight in the fridge. I like to use 2 x 450g loaf tins and freeze the second cake whole for another day.
Other delicious cake recipes
Below you can find some other delicious cakes and bakes you might want to try:
- Chocolate fudge cake
- Spiced butternut squash muffins
- Carrot cake
- Victoria sponge cake
- Chocolate courgette brownies
We are replacing a little of the plain flour with almond flour. Due to it’s higher fat content, it helps create that lovely tender crumb.
Kept in a container in the cupboard this cake will last for up to 4 days.
Yes, you can freeze lemon drizzle cake. Slice and wrap each piece well in greaseproof paper and then altogether in cling film, and pop it in a bag or container in the freezer for up to 3 months. To defrost, you can either do this slowly at room temperature for 2-4 hours or overnight in the fridge.
Yes, you can make this lemon drizzle cake gluten-free by replacing the plain flour with plain gluten-free flour and adding 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum along with the other dry ingredients.
Extra Moist Lemon Drizzle Cake with a Soft, Tender Crumb
Equipment
- 1 x 900g loaf tin or 2 x 450g loaf tins
Ingredients
- 200 g flour can be gluten free – but then you need to add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
- 70 g almond flour
- 200 g caster sugar
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 225 g unsalted butter very soft
- 3 lemons zested and juiced
- 4 eggs
- 120 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 150 g icing sugar sifted
Instructions
- Line your loaf tin(s) with baking paper and preheat the over to 180 °C
- Add the flours, sugar, baking powder, softened butter and salt to the bowl of your stand mixer – or a large mixing bowl. Either with the paddle attachment, or a wooden spoon, beat the butter into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add in the zest of the 3 lemons together with 6 tablespoons of lemon juice (approximately 2 of the lemons).
- In another bowl, combine the eggs, milk, and vanilla paste and whisk together briefly. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry, roughly a quarter at a time. You will end up with a smooth batter.
- Pour the cake mix into the tin(s) and place in the centre of the oven and cook for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes, test to see if the cakes are cooked by pushing a cocktail stick into the centre of a cake. If it comes out clean, then they are done. If you are using a 900g tin, this will likely take the full hour.
- Place the tins on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, after which tin lift the cake(s) gently out of the tin using the baking paper to help you. Cool completely on the wire rack.
- Once the cake has cooled, whisk the icing sugar with the remaining juice of the lemon until it creates a thick icing. Push a cocktail stick into the cake multiple times all over, then drizzle the icing over the cake. With this decoration, we're not looking for perfection!
Notes
- The beauty of using the almond flour in this cake is to keep it moist. It will therefore keep in a sealed tin in the cupboard for 3-4 days.
- You can easily replace the plain flour with gluten free plain flour, but you will also need to add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum along with the other dry ingredients.