Lemon drizzle cake is a quintessential British teatime treat, boasting countless recipe variations.
Classic recipes for a homemade lemon cake typically involve staple sponge ingredients and fresh lemons, though some might recommend using lemon extract as an alternative.
But when it comes to Mary Berry’s take on this traditional dessert, she includes a special ingredient for the most scrumptious outcome and an irresistible texture. In her renowned cookbook, ‘Mary Berry’s Baking Bible’, the celebrated British baker shares her method for a “delicious lemon and poppyseed traybake”.
Her secret? A splash of milk and, crucially, the crunchy black poppy seeds that elevate the recipe. Poppy seeds are a perfect match for lemon, with the citrus cutting through the seeds’ richness.
They bring a nutty flavour and scent to dishes and are a staple in Eastern European and Middle Eastern cuisines. These seeds, which come from the poppy plant, add not only a delightful crunch to lemon cakes but also an appealing visual aspect, reports the Express.
Beyond their aesthetic appeal, poppy seeds pack a nutritional punch, with a single tablespoon containing approximately 6g of protein and 7g of fibre. Incorporating poppy seeds into your lemon cake is as easy as mixing them into the batter before baking, regardless of whether you’re making a bundt, loaf, or layered cake.
Mary Berry’s lemon poppy seed cake recipe stands out with its simple yet impactful twist.
Mary Berry’s lemon poppy seed cake recipe
Ingredients
- Two lemons
- 225g soft butter or baking spread
- 225g caster sugar
- 275g self-raising flour
- Two level tsp baking powder
- Four eggs
- Four tbsp milk
- 25g poppy seeds
For the icing
- Three tbsp lemon juice, approximately
- 225g icing sugar, sifted
Method
- To make Mary’s sheet cake, you need a 30cm x 23cm x 4cm traybake or roasting tin. First, preheat the oven to 180C/160Fan/Gas 4.
- Grease and line your tray with baking tin or roasting tin with greased parchment paper, and make a start on the cake mixture. Remove the zest from one lemon using a zester and set aside for garnish.
- Now, take the second lemon and finely grate the rind. Measure all the ingredients into a large bowl, then add the grated lemon rind and mix everything by hand or with an electric hand whisk for about two minutes until well blended.
- When the mixture is ready, transfer it to the prepared tin and level the top. Finally, bake the cake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cake shrinks from the sides of the tin and springs back when pressed in the centre.
- Once cooked, leave the cake to cool in the tin before turning it onto a chopping board and removing the paper.
- For the icing, combine the lemon juice, sieved icing sugar, and mint to give it a coating consistency. Spread evenly over the cake, sprinkle with reserved lemon zest, and leave to set into a slightly crunchy consistency.