Double Lemon Drizzle Cake with Poppy Seeds

40 minutes

Scroll to the bottom of the page to see questions Lindsey has answered on this recipe

This recipe is from Delia's Cakes.

This is the definitive Lemon Drizzle cake, and we have used four lemons.

There’s almost as much drizzle as cake, so after you bite through the crunchy crust it is very lemony and syrupy inside.

The Delia Online Cookery School: You can now watch how to make this recipe in our video, just click the image to play.

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Making a Lemon Drizzle Traybake

Asked by: Simon01

HelloLindsey. I would like to make Delia's double lemon drizzle as a traybake and without the poppyseeds. Do I need to adjust the recepe? Many thanks. Eileen

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Eileen, It’s been a while, welcome back! I’d just omit the poppy seeds. The cooking temperature stays the same, but the timings may increase or decrease depending on the volume and depth of the mixture. As traybakes are ‘generally’ intended to be eaten with fingers I would reduce the proportion of drizzle. This recipe as is, is so moist it’s best eaten with a fork. Best wishes Lindsey

Amount of lemon juice in Double Lemon Drizzle Cake

Asked by: Wendy

Good morning, Lindsey You might get this twice, if so, apologies. I had three lemons and two limes so I made the double lemon drizzle cake using the lime juice as part of the syrup. When I began to spoon the syrup over the cake it became obvious there was too much syrup as it began to puddle on top of the cake so I drained some off. The cake was good, very moist. Two questions. Would the cake have absorbed all the juice eventually and been OK or would it have been a soggy mess? Although the lemons were smallish they might have yielded too much juice, I ended up with about 250 mls of juice for the syrup, Is there an approximate amount of juice I should have ended up with? Finally we have made 750 litres of wine! Love Wendy x

Answered by Lindsey: Hi Wendy, Congratulations on the wine. Sounds like success to me but truthfully I have no idea! I hope it tastes good. For the lemon syrup I would say that 250mls is about right. It does seem a lot but it is intentional. We find that the syrup gets soaked up quite well in into the hot sponge. Then it is very syrupy when it is cool. We show this cake in the cookery school just in case you haven’t seen it. Our very best as always, Lindsey

Making double lemon drizzle cake as a loaf cake

Asked by: Steinway485

DOUBLE LEMON DRIZZLE CAKE WITH POPPY SEEDS I'd like to make this as a loaf cake. Can you foresee any adjustments I would need to make to the recipe, or any inherent problems with doing is as a loaf, rather than round cake?

Answered by Lindsey: Hello Steinway, I think the Double Lemon Drizzle Cake mixture will fit in the Delia Online loaf tin (or a 1lb Silverwood tin) or a traditional 2lb loaf tin. When the cake has been drizzled it is very, very moist which means it’s quite fragile. So unless your loaf tin is hinged you might have problems turning it out neatly. I haven’t tried it but perhaps it might be easier to drizzle it after it has been turned out. Best wishes Lindsey

Method

Start off by sifting the flour and baking powder into a roomy mixing bowl, holding the sieve quite high to give the flour a good airing as it goes down.

Then add the butter, sugar, eggs, lemon zest and juice and finally the poppy seeds. Now, using an electric hand whisk, mix to a smooth creamy consistency for about one minute. Spoon the mixture into the tin, levelling it with the back of the spoon, and bake near the centre of the oven for 40 minutes or until the centre feels springy.

When the cake is ready, remove the tin from the oven to a board, then straight away mix together the syrup ingredients. Next stab the cake all over with a skewer and spoon the syrup evenly over the hot cake. Mix the rounded teaspoon of golden granulated sugar and the poppy sees together and finally sprinkle on the top of the cake. After that the cake needs to cool in its tin before it can be removed and stored in an airtight container.

Note: this is equally good made without the poppy seeds if you prefer.

Ingredients

juice of 1 large lemon

40g poppy seeds

175g self-raising flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

175g spreadable butter

175g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs

grated zest of 3 large lemons

For the syrup

juice of 3 large lemons

grated zest of 1 large lemon

50g golden icing sugar, sifted

100g golden granulated sugar

To finish:

1 rounded teaspoon golden granulated sugar

1 rounded teaspoon poppy seeds

Equipment

You will also need a Delia Online 20cm Round Loose-based Cake Tin, or similar, greased and base lined. The Delia Online bakeware range is available online. Buy our 20cm Round Loose-based Cake Tin plus washable and reusable liner direct from Silverwood.

For a limited time only, you can shop the official Delia Online Bakeware Range at Silverwood and SAVE 15% OFF with our exclusive code