British Lemon Drizzle Traybake with a Crunchy Sugar Crust

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

The tearoom classic done properly: a buttery, zest-flecked sponge baked in a square pan, skewered all over while hot and flooded with a barely-dissolved lemon-and-sugar drizzle. As it cools the juice sinks in and the sugar sets on top into a thin, sandy crust that crackles under the fork. No frosting, no layers — just three lemons, real butter and one bowl of creaming.

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened (2 sticks / 225 g)
• 1 1/8 cups granulated sugar (225 g)
• 3 lemons, zested (save the juice for the drizzle)
• 4 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (225 g), spooned and leveled
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
• 3 tbsp whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 2/3 cup granulated sugar (135 g), plus 1 tbsp for the top
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (from the zested lemons, about 80 ml)
• 1 pinch fine sea salt

• 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C) with a rack in the center. Butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan and line it with a parchment sling that overhangs two sides — the hot drizzle makes the cake fragile, and the sling is how you lift it out cleanly.
2. Zest all 3 lemons onto a plate before juicing them. Measure 1 tablespoon of the zest into the sugar for the sponge and rub it in with your fingertips for 30 seconds until the sugar smells sharply of lemon and looks damp. Reserve the remaining zest and juice the lemons; you need 1/3 cup juice for the drizzle.
3. Beat the softened butter with the lemon sugar in a stand mixer with the paddle (or with a hand mixer) on medium-high for 4 to 5 minutes, scraping down twice, until very pale and fluffy. This is the only lift the cake gets besides the baking powder, so don't cut it short.
4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each and scraping the bowl. If the batter looks curdled, add 2 tablespoons of the measured flour and beat 15 seconds to bring it back together.
5. Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Add half to the batter and mix on low just until streaky, then add the milk and vanilla, then the rest of the flour. Mix on low for no more than 20 seconds and finish folding by hand — the batter should be thick and drop slowly off the spatula.
6. Scrape into the pan and smooth the top, pushing the batter slightly higher at the corners than the center. Bake 38 to 44 minutes, until the top is golden, springs back when pressed and a skewer in the center comes out with no wet batter (an instant-read thermometer should read 205–210°F).
7. While the cake bakes, stir the 2/3 cup sugar, 1/3 cup lemon juice and pinch of salt together in a small bowl. Do not heat it and do not try to dissolve all the sugar — the undissolved grains are what make the crust. Stir again right before using.
8. As soon as the cake comes out, set the pan on a rack and prick the surface all over with a thin skewer or toothpick, going about three-quarters of the way down, roughly every 3/4 inch (50 to 60 holes).
9. Spoon the drizzle slowly over the hot cake, a couple of tablespoons at a time, working corner to corner and letting each addition sink in before adding more. Scrape the last of the wet sugar from the bowl and spread it evenly across the top, then sprinkle with the extra tablespoon of sugar and the reserved zest.
10. Cool completely in the pan, at least 90 minutes, without covering it — the top needs dry air to set into a crackly crust. Lift out with the parchment sling and cut into 12 squares with a serrated knife, wiping the blade between cuts.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

More from Sprig Originals

Frozen Chocolate–Caramel Peanut Nougat Bars

Blueberry Peach Buckle with Almond Streusel

Creole Cream Cheese Cheesecake with Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate

Are you this recipe's original author or publisher? Report a problem