A simple, classic loaf cake somehow never gets old! This one is made with a lemony batter and a tart, sticky syrup poured on top of the hot cake, making it extra moist and citrusy in the best possible ways. It’s soft, buttery and couldn’t be easier to make. I hope you love it!

I’d made this cake a few years ago after seeing the recipe in Nigella Lawson’s cookbook, How to be a Domestic Goddess. I wanted to take some new photos and also make sure that this time I make a lemon syrup (originally I’d halved the sugar to create a crackly glaze on top of the cake) and let it soak into the cake.

While the original recipe used self-raising flour, this time I used regular flour, adding baking powder and by the end of it, had a beautifully golden-brown, domed loaf cake. The cracks are perfect to let the syrup seep in! And I’ve tried it with self-raising flour and that works well too, and in fact the top is a little flatter that way.

While the cake isn’t absolutely soaked with syrup, it definitely adds a lot of lovely lemon flavour and I think the cake would be incomplete without it so don’t skip it! It tends to soak more into the top half and edges of the cake because of the shape of the loaf, but if you want to make a more even square cake, that’s fine too. Either way, there are pockets of extra lemony, moist bits of cake that are just so good.

The cake does need to be completely cooled and in fact I recommend leaving it out overnight, for the syrup to do its thing and for the texture to be at its buttery best. Worth the wait, I promise! Let’s make some cake 🙂

Please read the recipe notes before beginning.

Glazed Lemon Loaf

Soft lemon scented butter cake with a tart lemon syrup poured on top

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1 10

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Ingredients

For the cake

125 gms butter at room temperature
3/4 cup caster sugar (140 gms)
2 lemons, zested (approx 1/2 tsp, I use regular Indian lemons)
2 eggs at room temperature (see notes)
4 tbsps milk
1 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (180 gms)
1 and 1/4 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp salt if using unsalted butter

For the glaze (see notes)

4 tbsps lemon juice
1 cup icing sugar (115 gms)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 175 C. Line an 9x5 inch loaf tin with non-stick baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal. Alternately, grease the pan.
In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest with a hand mixer on low to medium speed until pale and creamy.
Add the eggs and beat to combine. Add the milk and beat briefly.
Finally, sift in the flour, baking powder and salt (if using). Fold gently till combined. If some lumps remain, run the hand mixer through the batter on low speed for just a few seconds to smoothen it out. The batter is quite thick.
Transfer the batter into the prepared tin, smoothen the top and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the cake has domed, turned golden brown on top (cracks are normal) and a toothpick poked in the center comes out clean.
About 5 minutes before the cake is done, make the syrup. Combine the lemon juice and icing sugar in a small saucepan over low heat and stir till the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is thin and fairly clear. This will take 3 to 4 minutes. Do not let the syrup boil because that hardens the sugar as it cools and it won't soak in properly.
Poke holes all over the hot cake with a skewer or fork, poking it all the way down (a toothpick is ok but the holes aren't wide enough for the syrup to soak in super easily in my experience), and slowly spoon the warm syrup all over the cake, spreading it around evenly. (The syrup will inevitably flow towards the edges and sides, see notes for more info.)
Once all the syrup has been poured, let the cake cool to room temperature and in fact, I left it loosely covered overnight before slicing it the next day. The top will no longer look shiny and the syrup will have soaked in better. When you slice it, you'll have a soft and buttery cake with visible patches where the syrup has soaked in. Store the cake at room temperature for 2 to 3 days, in the fridge for a week and you could also freeze it if needed. Happy baking!

Notes

*I added 1/2 tsp vanilla extract to this cake since there's eggs in it. However I did find that the vanilla makes the cake itself less lemony. Nigella Lawson's original recipe did not use any vanilla so feel free to go either way and there shouldn't be an eggy aftertaste. I've also experimented with adding 1 tbsp lemon juice to the batter and while it adds a little more lemon flavour, it's not a whole lot so I didn't specify it in the recipe. If you want to try it, add it after the eggs, and while the butter will split because of the acid in the juice, it comes together when you add the dry ingredients.

*The lemon syrup is definitely lemony. If this is a concern, you can add a little more sugar, or reduce the lemon juice to 3 tbsps, keeping in mind that both will create a thicker syrup. Whatever you do, don't skip the syrup because that's where all the lemon flavour is!

*Because of the shape of a loaf cake, the syrup spreads faster to the edges and sides so it will soak in a bit more there than in the center. If you prefer, you can also bake this as an 8" square cake which will have a flatter surface, reducing the baking time by about 15 minutes (although use a toothpick to check for doneness at about 25 minutes and adjust the time as needed)

*If you don't eat eggs, you can make a lemon version of this eggless butter cake if you prefer.

*Original recipe from How to be a Domestic Goddess

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9 Comments

Leslie Pinto
26/08/2021 at 21:31 · Reply

Followed your recipe exactly and the cake was simply delicious. Thanks. I used 45 ml lemon juice (from 2 big lemons) and found it just right. Used a 7 inch round and it took 45 minutes to bake.
- the desserted girl
  27/08/2021 at 09:06 · Reply
  
  I’m so happy to hear that!! Thank you for trying this out 🙂
Shiney Maria
05/07/2021 at 14:28 · Reply

Loved the recipe,it was yumm
- the desserted girl
  05/07/2021 at 14:33 · Reply
  
  So happy to hear that !
Pingback: Orange Pound Cake with Whiskey Glaze
Chinma Abraham
31/05/2021 at 00:31 · Reply

Hey, the cake was really yum. On another note what brand vanilla essence/extract do you recommend to you use while baking.
- the desserted girl
  31/05/2021 at 12:00 · Reply
  
  I’m glad you enjoyed it ! I’ve been using McCormick vanilla, but in India both Sprig and Goodness Vanilla are good options
Smita Kale
30/05/2021 at 15:23 · Reply

The cake turned out to be awesome, Gayatri. I was afraid it would be eggy but I didn’t want to use vanilla essence. So I used lemon essence which really worked well. Looking forward to your next post……
- the desserted girl
  30/05/2021 at 17:32 · Reply
  
  So good to hear that ! Thank you for making it 🙂