Extra Easy Lemon Drizzle Loaf

 

I am reeling from having gotten very little sleep over the past two nights here. I hate Daylight Saving's Time. I wish they would just leave the clocks alone. The time change always super-messes up my internal clock. I was up and unable to fall asleep for most of both Saturday night (in anticipation) and Sunday night (after the fact.)    Grrr . . . most annoying.

Anyways, I was wanting cake, but didn't necessarily want to put in a lot of effort or time. I had picked up some lovely large lemons at the shops late last week and remembered this Extra Easy Lemon Drizzle Loaf cake recipe that I have in a book by Jane Fernley Whittingstall, entitled The Good Granny Cookbook.  It is seriously the easiest lemon drizzle cake ever!

 

It is a delicious cake and one that I could throw together with my eyes closed. Seriously. It's as easy to make as banging everything into a food processor and blitzing it together.  Today I chose to bang it all into a bowl and just beat it up with my electric hand mixer. I also happened to have some lemon curd leftover from last week that needed using up as well, so it was perfect timing.

Seriously if you are looking for a quick, easy and very simple cake to make, you really cannot go wrong with this one. It's amazing!  Trust me.

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE EXTRA EASY LEMON DRIZZLE LOAF

A few simple baking cupboard ingredients.  There is nothing too out of the ordinary here, except for maybe the lemon curd.

For the cake:

• 140g self-raising flour (1 1/4 cup + 1 tsp)
• 4 ounces butter (1/2 cup/113g)
• 115g caster sugar (2/3 cup)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 dessertspoons of lemon curd (about 3 TBS)
• the finely grated zest of one lemon

For the drizzle topping:

• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 TBS sugar

 

You can very easily make your own self-raising flour if you don't happen to have any or cannot get it. I tell you how to do so in the recipe notes. Its very simple and works a charm.

I used salted butter. It's the only kind I keep in the house.

Caster sugar is a fine type of granulated sugar.  I find the sugar here in North America to be much finer than the granulated sugar in the UK so you should be okay to use it without any problems. If you are worried you can blitz regular sugar in a food processor to make it finer.

A dessert spoon is about a tablespoon and a half, so just use three tablespoons. I have provided my recipe to make your own lemon curd from scratch below.

  

Just in case you are keen to make your own from scratch lemon curd here is my easy and simple recipe how to do just that. It makes about 3 cups. You will need to keep the finished product in the refrigerator and use up within a week. Not a problem! It also makes a lovely gift, so keep half for you and gift the other half to a friend along with this lemon loaf recipe!

Yield: About 3 cups

Author: Marie Rayner

Easy Lemon Curd

Once you have had proper homemade lemon curd, you will never want to buy readymade again. The fresh made stuff is delicious, and very easy to make. It's a good way of getting rid of that glut of lemons you may have! It's delicious spread on bread, scones or muffins. I love it spread between thin ginger thins and topped with whipped cream, or as a tasty filling in a nice sponge cake.

Ingredients

• 1 TBS finely grated lemon zest plus 2 tsp of the same
• 8 fluid ounces (1 cup) fresh lemon juice
• 265g caster sugar (approx 1 1/3 cups)
• 4 large free range eggs
• 6 ounces unsalted butter (3/4 cup plus 2 TBS), all cut into TBS sized pieces

Instructions

1. Whisk the zest, lemon juice, sugar, eggs and a pinch of salt together in a heavy 2-liter saucepan.
2. Add the butter all at once and then cook over moderately low heat, whisking constantly until the curd is thick enough to hold the marks of the whisk and the first bubbles appear and break the surface. This should take about 10 minutes.
3. Immediately pour through a fine sieve into a bowl. Cover and chill before use. This should keep, covered and in the fridge for about 1 week.

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HOW TO MAKE EXTRA EASY LEMON DRIZZLE LOAF

Nothing could be easier. This truly is Easy Peasy, Lemon Squeezy (every pun intended!) You will need an 8 by 4-inch loaf tin.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Butter a loaf tin (8 by 4-inch) and line with greaseproof paper. Set aside.

Put all the cake ingredients into a food processor. Blend together for 2 minutes. (Alternately bang it into a bowl and beat together with an electric hand whisk for 3 minutes until smooth and lump free.)

 

Scrape this mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

While the cake is still warm, and before turning it out of the tin, mix the lemon juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves somewhat, and pour this mixture over top evenly.

Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing from the tin to cool completely on a wire rack.

This is a fabulously simple cake to make. I have never made an easier one. With beautiful lemon flavors and a lovely buttery crumb, this is quite simply a lovely lemon cake to make. 

If you are a fan of lemon drizzle loaf, you really need to try this version. It's exceptional.  I enjoyed a slice fresh on the day with a lovey cup of Lemon Meringue Tea from Tealish.  Heavenly bliss.

  

Are you a fan of lemon cakes meant to be enjoyed with cups of tea??  I love them. Here are a few more of my favorites to make!

CARAWAY SEED AND LEMON CAKE - Adapted from a cookery book by Tamsin Day Lewis entitled Food You Can't Say No To, this cake is indeed a cake that you won't be able to turn down when offered a slice!  A lovely tea loaf made with lemon, almonds and just the merest hint of caraway seed.  This is beautiful enjoyed along with a hot cuppa!

THYME AND LEMON CAKE - This delicious cake comes from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries II. Lemon and thyme are a marriage made in heaven and I often use them in combination when cooking poultry or fish. This is an unusual combination for a cake however, but let me tell you, it works beautifully. Moist and delicious, with just the merest hint of thyme and lemon in the batter. Most of the flavor comes from a lush lemon and thyme syrup which gets spooned over the cake when it's done. Magnificent!

Yield: one 8-inch loaf

Author: Marie Rayner

Extra Easy Lemon Drizzle Loaf

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 45 MinTotal time: 55 Min

This has to be one of the easiest cakes ever. You just bung everything into a food processor and blitz. Quick, easy and oh so very delicious!! Alternately you can just throw everything into a bowl and beat it together with an electric hand whisk. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy!

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 140g self raising flour (1 1/4 cup + 1 tsp)
• 4 ounces butter (1/2 cup/113g)
• 115g caster sugar (2/3 cup)
• 2 large eggs
• 2 dessertspoons of lemon curd (about 3 TBS)
• the finely grated zest of one lemon

For the drizzle topping:

• the juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 TBS sugar

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4. Butter a loaf tin and line with greaseproof paper. Set aside.
2. Put all the cake ingredients into a food processor. Blend together for 2 minutes. (Alternately bang it into a bowl and beat together with an electric hand whisk for 3 minutes until smooth and lump free.)
3. Scrape this mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. While the cake is still warm, and before turning it out of the tin, mix the lemon juice and sugar together until the sugar dissolves somewhat, and pour this mixture over top evenly.
5. Let sit for about 10 minutes before removing from the tin to cool completely on a wire rack.

Notes

You can easily make your own self-rising flour. For every cup needed, simply whisk 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder and 1/4 tsp of salt into the flour. I usually make this up 3 to 4 cups at a time and it always gets used up. Store in an airtight container

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