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Home » Recipes » Easy lemon drizzle cake

Easy lemon drizzle cake

April 4, 2019 by Alida Ryder 30 Comments

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Lemon cake is always a crowd favorite and this lemon drizzle cake is not only a fail-safe, easy recipe but also results in the most delicious, tangy and moist cake you will make.

Easy lemon drizzle cake

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who know me that lemon cake is by far my favorite type of cake. I mean, lemon-anything is my favorite. If I don’t have a large quantity of fresh lemons in my kitchen at all times I get a bit panicky because I just can’t live without that bright, zingy, freshness it adds to everything. Sweet or savory, lemon brings everything to life. And this lemon drizzle cake is no different.

I make this easy lemon drizzle cake recipe all the time because it doesn’t involve any creaming of butter and sugar or sifting or any of that stuff that makes baking seem difficult, you know? The key to this cake being so soft and tender is the use of plain yoghurt and oil in the cake. The lemon zest in the batter infuses its delicious perfume through the entire loaf and the zingy lemon icing finishes everything off perfectly.

I made a relatively runny icing because I wanted it to sink into the cake a little but you can always use less water if you want a thicker icing. Which would you prefer?
Serve generous slices of this sunshine-in-cake-form with coffee/tea for the ultimate afternoon snack.

Easy lemon drizzle cake

How to make lemon drizzle cake

Pre-heat the oven and line a loaf pan with parchment/baking paper. Stir together the dry ingredients and whisk all the wet ingredients together in a measuring jug. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and place in the oven to bake until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely then pour over the icing and serve.

How to make icing for lemon drizzle cake

Depending on the thickness you want, you can use more or less lemon juice and even add milk to make it thinner. For an icing that soaks into the cake, using 2 cups of icing/powdered sugar with ½-¾ cup of liquid will result in a thin icing. For a thicker icing, use less liquid or add more icing sugar.

Easy lemon drizzle cake

Easy lemon drizzle cake

Lemon cake is always a crowd pleaser and this lemon drizzle cake is fool-proof and also results in the most delicious, tangy and moist cake ever.
4.51 from 120 votes
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Course: Baking, Cake, Dessert, Easter
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 12
Calories: 335kcal
Author: Alida Ryder

Ingredients

  • 2 cups cake/all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup plain yoghurt (I used Greek)
  • 1 cup caster sugar
  • 3 large eggs
  • ½ cup canola oil
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • zest of 1 lemon

For the icing

  • 2 cups icing/powdered sugar
  • juice of 1 lemon

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 180ºc and grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper. 
  • Stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. 
  • In a jug, mix together the sugar, yoghurt, oil, lemon zest, vanilla and eggs. 
  • Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well. 
  • Transfer to the loaf pan and place in the oven. 
  • Bake for 30-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 
  • To make the icing, whisk together the icing sugar and lemon juice until smooth. 
  • Pour the icing over the cooled cake and serve. 

Nutrition

Calories: 335kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 131mg | Potassium: 221mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 70IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 1.1mg

Lemon yoghurt cake with white chocolate frosting

Lemon yoghurt cake with white chocolate frosting

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Lemon coconut oil cake


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Filed Under: Baking Recipes, Cakes, Recipes, Videos Tagged With: Afternoon tea, baking video, cooking video, Easter, Easter recipe, easy cake recipe, Easy lemon cake, food vide, high tea, lemon cake, lemon drizzle cake, recipe video, spring recipe

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Comments

  1. Bikers Heathet

    March 24, 2022 at 10:43 PM

    Urgh. Yogurt is a yank invention in this cake. It is far too sour and far too wet to use. If you want a proper and correct receipt find an English recipe please. You will then be making a correct English cake, not this heavy thing.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 27, 2022 at 6:51 PM

      I am South African, actually.

      Reply
      • Bzy

        April 5, 2022 at 11:39 AM

        This cake is so delicious thank you. I am.Zimbabwean

        Reply
  2. Mavhungu

    May 6, 2021 at 11:29 PM

    Hello can I use double cream yoghurt ?
    Also if I have a gas oven does it affect how much time I should leave it in the oven for ?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      May 18, 2021 at 2:47 PM

      Yes, you can use double cream yoghurt. I am not familiar with gas oven baking so won’t be able to guide you, unfortunately. Perhaps Google gas-oven conversions?

      Reply
  3. Ahmed

    December 18, 2020 at 8:24 PM

    Excellent! I didn’t use room temp ingredients just out of the fridge *bam* I did sift though, and I used a lemon drizzle of about 1 cup of granulated sugar mixed with two meyer lemon juice/zest!

    Turned out great thanks! I hate creaming butter ugh.

    Reply
  4. cam food

    January 7, 2020 at 2:46 PM

    wow look so very beautiful thank you for sharing

    Reply
  5. Patty

    September 7, 2019 at 8:31 PM

    Do you think I could use sour cream in place of the yogurt?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      September 8, 2019 at 5:23 PM

      Absolutely!

      Reply
  6. Aga

    March 31, 2019 at 1:18 PM

    What is the size of your cup?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      April 1, 2019 at 1:04 PM

      I use 250ml cups.

      Reply
  7. Zwivhuya Shikwambana

    November 28, 2018 at 8:20 AM

    HI Alida,

    Can i use this Recipe to make a two or three layer cake ?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      November 28, 2018 at 3:22 PM

      You could make a two layer but I would double the recipe for more layers than that.

      Reply
  8. Cat

    September 22, 2018 at 1:47 AM

    Hi Alida, What size of loaf tin did you use?
    Will my 20cm X10.5cm loaf tin be ok?

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      September 23, 2018 at 12:48 PM

      Yup, that will be perfect!

      Reply
  9. manival

    March 28, 2018 at 12:26 PM

    Unbelievable that I made it so perfectly I guess.It really is easy to make and delicious.My own can’t family it since I am a regular baker.Thanks for this recipe.Love from India

    Reply
  10. Laura | Tutti Dolci

    March 24, 2018 at 7:42 AM

    Such a lovely cake, I adore the lemon drizzle!

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 25, 2018 at 2:48 PM

      Thanks so much Laura!

      Reply
  11. Christine

    March 18, 2018 at 3:29 PM

    Loved this recipe. Easy to make, very little washing up to do and an absolutely delicious cake. Two thumbs up.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 18, 2018 at 3:32 PM

      Happy you liked it. 🙂

      Reply
      • Benedicta

        July 20, 2020 at 6:46 AM

        My cake cracked at the top! I used a square 7 x 7 inch tin, Could it be the way I mixed the wet ingredients together? As I have tried other recipes with this same method and the outcome was same … cracked too!

        Reply
        • Alida Ryder

          July 20, 2020 at 12:33 PM

          It could be that your oven is a little too warm so that the cake rises very rapidly?

          Reply
  12. Mary

    March 16, 2018 at 8:03 PM

    Loved this cake. Too minutes to make the batter and the cake was so light and delicious.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 18, 2018 at 3:18 PM

      So happy to hear that. 🙂

      Reply
  13. Christine

    March 14, 2018 at 7:32 PM

    This looks fantastic. Can’t wait to give it a try.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 14, 2018 at 7:36 PM

      Thanks Christine!

      Reply
  14. Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen

    March 14, 2018 at 7:31 PM

    Lemon desserts are my favorite Alida! Can’t wait to give this loaf a go!

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 14, 2018 at 7:36 PM

      Mine too Mary Ann! Always a classic! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Thando

    March 14, 2018 at 7:28 PM

    I made it this evening & to its name it is really simple & not fussy. Simple in the sense that I had all the ingredients on hand (I’m not even a regular baker) and easy to execute in an hour.
    It’s delicious! Delivers on taste & texture as it’s moist, zesty and light with a firm crumb. That lemon drizzle on top is everything.

    Reply
    • Alida Ryder

      March 14, 2018 at 7:36 PM

      I’m so impressed you made it so quickly! That lemon drizzle makes the whole thing. 😉

      Reply

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Hi! I'm Alida, mom of twins and creator of Simply Delicious. I hope to encourage a love for cooking by creating fool-proof recipes that are easy and delicious. Read More…

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