… just wanted to update any possible lonely readers out there that I haven’t abandoned the blog just yet. We’ve just been incredibly busy at work and I haven’t had the time to toast bread let alone write a food blog. I miss writing and whilst I love my kitchen I’ve lost a little love for cooking. I’m sure it will all come back but for now please bear with me in my sporadic posting…
old-fashioned lemon loaf cake
I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where there was always a slice of cake available. I’m not talking about these vulgar, butter-cream-icing-laden, multilayered cakes that are unavoidable on social media but i’m talking about a proper cake. Usually but not always exclusively a loaf cake, I guess they’re what would have been known as a tea cake. Something my grandma Sylvia would have served on a Sunday at 4pm. A fruit loaf, a banana cake or as i’ve baked today an old-fashioned lemon loaf cake. When baking, mum’s trick was to always double the recipe and bake two cakes; one to be eaten now and one for the freezer which meant of course, there was always cake. This lemon loaf cake is a very basic but lovely tea cake. Mum’s mum, grandma Jennie used to bake it too and for me it’s an instant taste of childhood. The crunchy lemon and sugar topping is sharp and sweet and the same time and carries the moistened lemony tang with it into each bite of the cake. Simply divine.
grease and line a 1ltr loaf tin and pre-heat the oven to 170C
for the cake
- 225g butter – at room temperature soft
- 225g golden caster sugar
- 225g self-raising flour
- 3 large eggs
- the finely grated zest of two lemons
- 2 or three tablespoons milk
for the glaze
- the juice of 2 lemons
- 2 tablespoons sugar
i’ve used my smeg stand mixer for this but a traditional bowl and wooden spoon and some old-fashioned elbow grease will work just as well
place the butter and sugar into your bowl and beat well for at least 8 minutes until it creams together and become light and fluffy
add half the flour and 2 eggs and beat again gently until incorporated, then add the grated lemon zest, a tablespoon of lemon juice, 3 tablespoons milk and the remaining flour and final egg and beat it all together
pour the batter into your loaf tin and bake for 45 – 50 mins or until golden and risen and a skewer inserted comes out clean
meanwhile, in a bowl combine the remaining juice and two tablespoons of sugar and stir well
remove from the oven and pierce all over with the skewer then pour the lemon sugar syrup all over the cake – leave the cake in the loaf tin until completely cool.
eat and of course, enjoy!
I love a cake like this, a proper, old fashioned treat just like mum or grandma used to make!
As you say, not fancy, no pretentions, just plain and delicious goodness, perfect !
thanks Jean… indeed, a perfect cake x
My favourite cake! Simple yet so delicious. I love the freezer idea.
Thank you… always good to rely on the freezer!
Definitely a classic and there’s nothing wrong with a classic, especially on a Sunday afternoon. (I think a banana cake might have been regarded as a bit too modern and racy in my house when I was a nipper).
that Phil… oooh, a racy banana cake! Can you imagine anything so modern!
Sorry to hear you have fallen a little out of love with cooking right now. I am much the same, but I have had a very difficult start to the year having lost my mother last weekend. She too was a continual cake baker and we always had cake in the house. A classic lemon drizzle sings to me of childhood also. It sounds delicious….. I can almost taste it from here xx
Oh Kate, i’m so sorry about your mum. That’s so sad! I think it’s so incredible we have their legacy of baking though. Andy everythime we use their recipe or eat their cake we remember them!
Thank you Dom. There are many recipes that will always remind me of her and I am sure that they will be passed to the next generation too through my daughter x
What a lovely Lemon Cake. Just the thing with a cup of tea!
Thanks Janice. It really was very special and i’m drinking huge amounts of tea so it’s always good to wash it down with something right?
Hi Dom! Hope you’re doing well. We love lemon cake and this one looks fantastic. Wish I had a slice to go with my tea right now 🙂
Very well thanks Tricia!… I know, I have a cuppa but no cake, very sad!
Looks so great! Thank you for the recipe!
Old fashioned cakes are often the best and a lemon cake is one of the nation’s favourites. This looks perfect and I only wish I could tuck into it right now. My mum was fantastic when it came to puddings, but cake didn’t really materialise until I was old enough to bake my own.