Print

Mini Lemon Loaves

Heaven in a cake. The drizzle makes the cakes SO moist and lemony. Great for a bake sale, perfect for a picnic, gorgeous for a gift.

Recipe by Nigella.

Ingredients

Scale

For the cake -

  • 125g (4½ oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 175g (6oz) caster sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 175g (6oz) SR flour
  • pinch of salt
  • 4 tablespoons milk

For the syrup -

  • juice of 1 lemon (about 4 tablespoons)
  • 110g (4oz) icing sugar

You will also need -

8 mini loaf tins or a 23 x 13 x 7cm loaf tin or a 10 cupcake tray with paper liners

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/350°F (gas mark 4).
  2. If you are using mini loaf tins, be sure to grease them well and line them with a strip of baking parchment - I used these disposable cardboard loaf cakes cases. For a large loaf tin, greasing and lining the tin is also essential - I cut 2 rectangles, one which is the length of the tin and one which is the width of the tin. Be sure the 2 pieces are long enough that the paper comes up at least a centimetre above the top of the tin. The two pieces will form a cross inside the tin. For cupcakes, line the tin with paper cases.
  3. Cream together the butter and sugar, and add the eggs and lemon zest, beating them in well.
  4. Add the flour and salt, folding in gently but thoroughly, and then the milk.
  5. Spoon into the prepared tin(s) and place in the oven.
  6. While the cake is cooking, get on with the syrup - put the lemon juice and icing sugar into a small saucepan and hear gently so that the sugar dissolves.
  7. Bake the mini loaves and cupcakes for 20 minutes or the loaf for 45 minutes. In all cases, the cake should be golden, risen in the middle and an inserted cake-tester will come out clean.
  8. As soon as the cake is out of the oven, puncture the top all over with the cake-tester. Pour over the syrup, trying to ensure that the middle of the cakes gets as much syrup as the sides.
  9. I like to use a zester to create little swirls of lemon rind to use for decoration. Put these on just after the syrup to make sure that they stick.
  10. Leave the cake to be completely cold before removing it from the tin.

Keywords: cute, nostalgic, picnic, gifts