← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 225 g unsalted butter, soft
• 225 g caster sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 225 g Self-raising flour
• 2 unwaxed lemons: zest of both, juice of 1½
• 2 tbsp Milk
• 100 g granulated sugar, for the drizzle

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan, 350°F). Butter a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter and caster sugar until pale and fluffy, about 3 min. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each to stop curdling.
3. Fold in the rest of the flour, the lemon zest and the milk until smooth. Spoon into the tin and level the top.
4. Bake for 45–50 min until golden and a skewer in the centre comes out clean.
5. While the cake bakes, stir the lemon juice and granulated sugar together. As soon as the cake comes out, prick it all over with a skewer and spoon the drizzle evenly over the top.
6. Leave in the tin for at least 30 min, until the syrup has soaked in and the top has set into a crunchy crust, then lift out.

Tips

• Use granulated, not caster, sugar for the drizzle; the larger crystals give the crunch.
• Swap 50 g of the flour for ground almonds for a moister crumb (then it contains nuts).

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food Olive Magazine