Crunchy Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes

I get called upon quite often to make cakes for bake sales and fairs. For such occasions I find it's not the time to start experimenting with unusual flavours but to stick to the familiar. If the aim is to raise money then you need cakes which are relatively cheap to make in terms of ingredients. Of course if you're preparing a sale table you are going to need plenty of stock. The more you can make in the time available the better. If you really need to get a lot of cakes baked then having ones which can be frozen is also handy.

This recipe for Crunchy Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes ticks all the boxes for a great bake sale cake. Lemon drizzle is always popular and this one is made with store cupboard ingredients and just 1 lemon. From this one batch of mixture you make two cakes which can be baked in one go in just 30 minutes. I always find you can make more money from two small cakes rather than one big one. Once you have left the crunchy topping to set you can double wrap it in cling film and freeze it.

Equipment: 2 x 1lb (450g) loaf tins lined, large bowl, electric whisk/beaters

Ingredients

4oz (115g) Unsalted butter, softened or baking spread

6oz (170g) Self-raising flour

1tsp (5ml) Baking powder

6oz (170g) Caster sugar

2 Eggs

4tbsp (60ml) Milk

Zest of 1 Lemon

Topping

Juice of 1 Lemon

4oz (115g) Granulated sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4.

2. Add all the cake ingredients to the large bowl and beat well for several minutes until the mixture is well combined and pale.

3. Split the mixture evenly between the two prepared loaf tins.

4. Bake for 30 minutes until the tops of the cakes are golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

5. Mix together the lemon juice and sugar and spoon over the cakes whilst they are still warm.

6. Leave to cool completely in the tins.

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