Small Batch Lemon Drizzle
This small batch lemon drizzle cake has taken me many attempts to perfect but the result is a cake that is both light & moist. The sponge has a subtle nutty flavour that complements the lemon. This is down to browning half of the butter & the addition of ground almonds.
This makes a smaller loaf than a regular lemon drizzle recipe, great if you only want to make a few portions.
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Small Batch Cakes
This recipe makes a smaller loaf cake, perfect for serving up to 6 people. These types of cakes are great for when you only need a small number of portions & don’t want to make a large cake that will eventually dry out. I’m always looking for more recipe ideas, so if there’s a cake that you want making into a small batch recipe, drop a comment at the bottom of this page!
A Cake With A Back Story
When developing this recipe, it took me 4 or 5 attempts to finally get it right! Usually when developing a recipe, I’d take a break after a couple of attempts but I was determined to get this one right. I was eating lemon drizzle cake for a week. Not a bad problem to have though!
I couldn’t be happier with the final cake though, it’s got everything that makes a lemon drizzle cake so good. It’s moist, tender & soft plus it has the distinct split down the middle that any decent loaf cake should have!
How To Get That Loaf Cake Split
The secret behind getting a loaf cake to split down the middle whilst it’s cooking is piping a line of salted butter onto the top of the raw cake batter. You could also dip a bench knife in melted butter then press this into the cake mix but I’ve found the piping method produces a more consistent split.
Equipment Used
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More Baking Recipes
- Lemon & Almond Battenberg
- Chocolate Brownies
- Salted Tahini & Vanilla Cookies
- Brown Butter S’more Cookies
- Lemon & White Chocolate Shortbread
- Traditional Eccles Cakes
Small Batch Lemon Drizzle
Equipment
- 450g/1lb Loaf Tin
- Stand Mixer
- Piping Bag
Ingredients
Sponge
- 120 g Unsalted Butter 60g Browned, 60g Softened
- 80 g Golden Caster Sugar
- 20 g Light Brown Sugar
- 2 Lemons, Zested
- 2 Medium Eggs Lightly Beaten
- 100 g Plain Flour
- 20 g Ground Almonds
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 Pinch Table Salt
- 25 g Lemon Curd
- 2 tbsp Milk
Syrup
- 1 Lemon, Juiced
- Water To Make Lemon Juice Up To 75g
- 75 g Golden Caster Sugar
Icing
- 1 Lemon, Juiced
- 75 g Icing Sugar
Instructions
- Start by greasing & lining a 450g/1lb loaf tin.Preheat your oven to 180°c.
- Place the golden caster & light brown sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the lemon zest & massage into the sugars.
- Sift the flour & baking powder together into a bowl then add the ground almonds & salt. Whisk to combine then set aside.
- Add the brown butter & 50g of the softened butter (place the remaining 10g of softened butter into a piping bag & set aside) to the sugar & beat with the mixer’s paddle attachment until light & fluffy (3-4 minutes).Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every couple of minutes.
- With the mixer at a medium speed, beat in the eggs a little bit at a time.
- Add half of the dry ingredients & the all of the lemon curd to the cake batter. Mix on a low speed until just combined. Add the remaining dry ingredients & the milk & mix to combine.
- Transfer the cake mix into the prepared loaf tin. Smooth the top of the cake mix with a spatula then pipe a thin line of softened butter down the centre of the tin.
- Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes until the cake is golden brown & a skewer comes out clean.
- Whilst the cake is baking, make the syrup.To do this, juice the lemon & weigh how much juice is produced. If necessary, top up with water so that you have 75g of liquid.Next, add the sugar & juice to a small saucepan & cook over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring the syrup to a boil & reduce for 1 minute. Pass through a sieve & set aside to cool slightly.
- Once the cake has cooked, leave to cool until no longer hot but still slightly warm. Poke some holes into the top of the cake with a skewer then evenly pour over the warm syrup.Leave the cake to cool to room temperature then remove the cake from the tin (keep it in the baking paper) & wrap tightly with clingfilm. Leave overnight.
- The next day, unwrap the cake & place onto a cooling rack set over a baking tray. To make the icing, sift the sugar into a bowl & whisk in enough lemon juice to make a smooth, runny icing.Brush this all over the cake & leave to set before serving.
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