How to Make Lemon Drizzle Cake

Preheat the oven

• Preheat your oven to 170°C fan / 180°C conventional and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper.

Mix the wet ingredients

• In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract until smooth and well combined.

Rub the lemon zest into the sugar

• In a separate bowl, combine the caster sugar and lemon zest and rub them together with your fingertips for about 1–2 minutes until fragrant.

Add the dry ingredients

• Sift the plain flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl containing the lemon sugar mixture and gently stir to combine.

Combine wet and dry ingredients

• Pour the dry mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients and fold everything together until a smooth batter forms.

Bake the cake

• Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40–50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Prepare the lemon drizzle

• While the cake is baking, mix the lemon juice and caster sugar in a bowl so that the mixture remains slightly grainy.

Add the drizzle

• When the cake comes out of the oven, poke small holes across the surface using a skewer and slowly spoon the lemon drizzle over the warm cake.

Allow the cake to cool

• Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 45 minutes so it absorbs all the lemon syrup.

How to Make Sweet Vanilla Whipped Cream

• Whip the cream
• While the cake is cooling, whip double cream with a little icing sugar and vanilla extract until soft peaks form.
• Shape the rocher
• Use a spoon to shape the whipped cream into a rocher-style scoop ready for serving.

To Serve

• Slice the cake, brush each slice lightly with lemon curd, and top with a rocher of sweet vanilla whipped cream.