Lemon Drizzle Cake

This light and moist lemon poundcake has a crunchy sugar glaze that crystallizes on top, giving a contrasting texture to the soft crumb underneath. It’s an easy-to-make, crowd-pleasing cake that’s excellent on its own but takes well to embellishments. A scoop of ice cream or sorbet, fruit compote and-or lemon curd are all wonderful alongside.

Ingredients

  • 1cup/225 grams butter (2 sticks), softened, more for greasing pan
  • 2cups plus 3 tablespoons/275 grams all-purpose flour
  • 5 ½teaspoons baking powder
  • ¼teaspoon kosher salt
  • Finely grated zest and juice of 2 1/2 lemons
  • 2 ¼cups/450 grams granulated sugar
  • 4large eggs
  • ¼cup/60 milliliters whole milk
  • Nutritional Information
      • Nutritional analysis per serving (24 servings)

        233 calories; 8 grams fat; 5 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 0 grams dietary fiber; 18 grams sugars; 3 grams protein; 51 milligrams cholesterol; 117 milligrams sodium

    Note: The information shown is DiningAndCooking.com’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation

  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees and place a rack in the center. Grease a 9-by-12-inch baking pan and line with parchment paper, allowing a 2-inch overhang on the long sides.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
  3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together butter and half of the sugar (225 grams/1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until incorporated, then beat in milk, scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary (mixture will look curdled, and that’s O.K.). Mix in flour mixture until combined, then scrape into prepared baking pan, smoothing the top.
  4. Bake until golden brown and springy, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes, then use the paper overhang to lift the cake out of the pan; transfer to wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet and carefully remove paper.
  5. While cake bakes, in a small bowl mix together remaining half of the sugar (225 grams/1 cup plus 2 tablespoons) and enough lemon juice to make a runny mixture. While cake is still warm, spoon the sugar mixture evenly over the top. (The cake has to be cooled slightly to prevent topping from melting, but warm enough that it soaks into the cake, leaving a crunchy sugar coat on top.) Let cool, then cut into squares.

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