Lemon Drizzle Cake

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 200g self-raising flour, sifted
• 125g natural yoghurt
• 2 tbsp milk (optional, to loosen batter)
• 200g caster sugar
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 200g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 tsp baking powder
• Zest of 3 lemons and juice for the drizzle (approx. 4 tbsp)
• 150g icing sugar (for drizzle)
• 4 tbsp fresh lemon juice (for drizzle)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C fan. Grease and line a 900g loaf tin (or 20cm x 30cm tin) with baking paper, leaving a little overhang for lifting.
2. Cream the softened butter and caster sugar in a large bowl for 4–5 minutes until pale, fluffy and noticeably lighter in colour. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl between additions so the mixture stays glossy and emulsified rather than splitting.
3. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the bowl and fold gently with a large spoon or spatula until just combined — stop the moment you no longer see streaks of flour. Fold through the yoghurt and lemon zest. If the batter feels stiff, loosen with a splash of milk; it should drop slowly from the spoon.
4. Spoon into the prepared tin and level the top. Bake for 40–45 minutes until deeply golden, well risen and springy to the touch — a skewer pushed into the centre should come out clean with no wet batter clinging to it.
5. While the cake is still warm in the tin, mix the icing sugar with the lemon juice (and vanilla, if using) until smooth and just pourable. Prick the top all over with a skewer, going right down to the base, then spoon the drizzle slowly over the surface so it soaks into the crumb and pools into a tacky, crackly crust as it cools.
6. Leave in the tin for 10 minutes, then lift out onto a wire rack. Cool until just warm or fully cold before slicing — the cake should be dense, moist and properly zingy, with a sugary crunch where the drizzle has set.