Mary Berry's Lemon Drizzle Traybake

Ingredients

• 4 Eggs (Large)
• 225 g Caster sugar
• 225 g Baking spread (Can substitute with very soft butter)
• 275 g Self-raising flour
• 2 tsp Baking powder
• 4 tbsp Milk
• 2 Lemons (Zest only for the cake; juice reserved for topping)
• Lemon verbena (Optional; finely chopped, tough middle stems removed)
• 175 g Granulated sugar (For the drizzle topping)

Steps

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 160°C (320°F). Grease a 23 x 30 cm (9 x 12 inch) traybake tin or high-sided baking tin and line it with non-stick parchment paper.

2. 2

   If using lemon verbena, remove the tough middle ribs from the leaves and finely chop the leaves.

3. 3

   In a large mixing bowl, add the 4 eggs, 225g caster sugar, 225g baking spread (or very soft butter), 275g self-raising flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 4 tbsp milk, and the zest of 2 lemons.

4. 4

   Beat the mixture for about one minute using an electric hand mixer or stand mixer until the batter is beautifully smooth and well combined.

5. 5

   Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and level the surface with a spatula.

6. 6

   Bake in the preheated oven at 160°C for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the cake has risen, is pale golden brown, and springs back when lightly pressed.

7. 7

   While the cake is baking, prepare the drizzle by mixing the juice of the 2 lemons with 175g of granulated sugar in a small bowl. Stir until combined but the sugar is still crunchy.

8. 8

   Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the tin for exactly 10 minutes.

9. 9

   While the cake is still warm, pour the lemon and sugar mixture over the top, ensuring you spread it all the way to the edges. The juice will soak into the sponge while the sugar remains on top to form a crust.

10. 10

    Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin before cutting into squares and serving.

Notes

If you don't have a traybake tin, you can use a 20cm round tin or two 1lb loaf tins. The lemon verbena is optional and can be omitted without affecting the cake's structure.

Nutrition per serving

• dessert
• cake
• lemon
• baked
• British
• tea time
• traybake