Layered Lemon Drizzle Cake

I've always loved making cakes at home with Samik but it is only recently that I've dared to really go it alone as far as baking is concerned. I was always worried that my little oven just wouldn't be up to the job, but so long as you have time on your hands, anything is possible with that little monster. I have to bake one layer at a time, but normal people will be able to just do it in one go. It doesn't bother me that much really, since it makes a whole evening out of the baking process and I get quite the sense of achievement as I assemble the whole thing and look at the fruits of my labour!


Lemon Drizzle Cake has always been one of my favourites. Generally, it is just a single layer with a sweet lemon frosting but I decided to thicken it up a bit and do a lemon cake Victoria Sponge-style. It's the simplest thing in the world, just a two layered sponge (with lemon zest) with a little buttercream filling and an easy-peasy frosting. Here's how:

200 grams plain flour
300 grams unsalted butter, soft but not melted (200 grams cubed)
250 grams castor sugar
50 grams muscovado sugar
100 grams icing sugar
3 tsp granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 tbsp crème fraîche
1 tsp baking powder
2 lemons

Start by zesting the two lemons. Once zested, juice them both and leave to the side. In a mixing bowl, put the flour, 150 grams of castor sugar (you need the rest for the frosting) and the baking powder. Add the zest and stir everything together. Add the 200 grams cubed butter and mix everything together with your hands until the mixture is soft and crumbly. Add the three eggs and the crème fraîche and stir in with a metal spoon until you have a smooth cake mixture.

Grease two 7" baking tins with butter and line the bottoms with greaseproof paper. Split the mixture between the two tins and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 190°C.

Once you have removed the cakes, leave one of them in the tin and prod the top several times all over with a fork.

In a saucepan on the hotplate, bring the remaining 100 grams of castor sugar and the 50 grams of muscovado sugar to a fast boil with the juice of the two lemons. Keep stirring as it boils then turn down the heat for a minute or so before removing from the hotplate. Keep stirring for another minute or two until it is a slightly sticky, syrupy mixture. Drizzle the syrup over the cake still in the tin (with the fork prods!) and smooth it in with a knife, letting it soak into the cake.

Immediately sprinkle the 3 teaspoons of castor sugar over the top of the syrup and leave to cool until the top is set and 'frosted.'

In a small bowl, beat the remaining butter with the icing sugar until you have a smooth buttercream. Once both cake layers are completely cool, spread the buttercream on the flat side of the bottom layer then place the frosted one on top. Serve alone or with a spoonful of crème fraîche as a dessert.