Lime and Lemon Drizzle Cake

madnad

This weekend, I was due to have family come over for Sunday dinner. My step-father is a fan of citrus desserts, as am I; Lemon Meringue being one of his favourites. I thought I would make something that everyone would enjoy, but that wasn’t too fussy as I had other things to do for dinner. As it happened, due to unforeseen car issues, my family were not able to make it over. As I had the citrus fruit in, I didn’t see the point in wasting them so I made the dessert anyway. 

A lemon drizzle cake is a tea time classic. It is a simple victoria sponge delicately flavoured with the zest of the fruit, but the thing that makes it sublime is the addition of the juice and sugar drizzled over when it is straight out of the oven. The cake then transforms into something that is sweet and tart. Perfect for any time of day, but you have to have a cup of tea with it – earl grey if you have it. 

I had some limes, so decided that the addition of another citrus would make things a little more interesting but you can just stick to lemon if you prefer. Another little tweak to the traditional recipe is the use of light brown sugar for the drizzle. I love brown sugar, it has a more caramel note than caster sugar, and gave the top a slight treacley sticky top, which was perfect to dust with some of the lime zest. 

LIME AND LEMON DRIZZLE

Delicate victoria sponge with a sweet and tart drizzle of lemon and limes. Perfect with a cup of tea

COURSE: Dessert
SERVINGS: 8
CALORIES: 368 kcal
AUTHOR: madnad
INGREDIENTS
  • 180 g Butter
  • 180 g Caster Sugar
  • Pinch Salt
  • Juice & Zest of 1 Lime
  • Juice & Zest of 2 Lemons
  • 3 Large Free Range Eggs
  • 120 g Plain Flour
  • 60 g Ground Almonds
  • 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
  • 1-3 tablespoon Milk
  • 80 g Light Brown Sugar
INSTRUCTIONS
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180ºC / 350ºF / Gas Mark 4. Line and grease a 2lb loaf pan
  2. Beat the butter and sugar together, along with the salt, lemon zest and half the lime zest. Beat until well mixed, pale and fluffy
  3. Add in the eggs one at a time, and mix well before adding the next. Beat for a further minute on high
  4. Add in the ground almonds, baking powder and flour, and mix in on a low speed until just combined
  5. Add in the milk, a tablespoon at a time, until you have a loose consistency that drops easily off a spoon
  6. Spoon the mixture into the tin, and level the surface, then back for 45-50 minutes until the top is golden and a skewer comes out clean
  7. While the cake is baking, add the brown sugar to the juice of the lime and lemons. Swirl the mixture until the sugar has all disolved then place to one side
  8. Once the cake is baked, pierce several times with the skewer, then while still warm, drizzle the juice over the sponge, a little at a time, allowing it to soak in before adding more
  9. Sprinkle over the remaining lime zest, then leave in the pan to fully cool
RECIPE NOTES

This recipe can be made ahead and frozen, but the top maybe extra sticky once thawed.

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