Mini Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes

These Mini Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes are a bitesize version of the classic and are jam-packed with zingy lemony flavour! Made using fresh lemon zest, these soft and fluffy mini loaf cakes are infused with a sweet lemon juice drizzle. They’re finished with lemon icing and lemon peel for an easy and delicious decoration.

This recipe is part of my Mini Cake Recipe Series which also includes these delicious Mini Victoria Sponge Cakes. More mini cake recipes coming soon!

Ingredients To Make Mini Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes

To make these cute mini lemon loaf cakes, gather the following ingredients:

• Unsalted butter or margarine: Using a margarine (such as Stork) is a great way to ensure a moist, fluffy and airy sponge texture. If using butter, make sure it is room temperature so it is easy to incorporate into the cake batter evenly.
• Caster sugar: The fine texture of caster sugar means it dissolves really easily into the batter, resulting in smooth and evenly sweetened mini loaf cakes.
• Self-raising flour: Self-raising flour has a raising agent included already, which gives these loaf cakes a lovely rise and fluffy texture. You can swap for all-purpose plain flour if needed, just remember to add 2 teaspoons of baking powder as well.
• Eggs: Choose organic free-range eggs if possible and make sure they are at room temperature. For this recipe, you can use either 2 large eggs or 3 medium eggs.
• Milk: You can use whole or semi-skimmed milk for this recipe to add an extra level of moisture and richness to the cakes.
• Lemon: Choose ripe, unblemished lemons for your baking. To get the most juice from your lemons, roll them on the worktop a few times before you start to juice them.

Which Baking Tin To Use For Mini Loaf Cakes

To make these mini lemon drizzle loaf cakes, it’s best to use a mini loaf tin. This will make perfectly uniform mini loaf cakes with straight, neat edges and no wasted sponge.

The best way to fill the mini loaf cake tin is to use a piping bag. This way you can make sure there’s an even amount of mixture in each hole. It’s also much quicker than using spoons and less messy! Simply fill your piping bag with the mixture, snip off the end, and pipe into the mini loaf cake tin.

This mini loaf tin is also non-stick and loose-based, making it super easy to remove the loaf cakes! Just push them out from the bottom and carefully peel off the metal bases.

Quick Recipe Success Tips

• Beat the butter, sugar and eggs together really well: This will incorporate air into the mixture creating a light and airy sponge.
• Gently fold in the flour: Carefully fold in the flour to avoid knocking out the air. Only fold the mixture until the ingredients are just combined. Overmixing can lead to a heavy and dense sponge.
• Use a piping bag to fill the mini loaf tin: This technique will get an even amount of cake mixture into each hole, and it’s much less messy! Simply pop your cake mixture into a piping bag, snip off the end and then fill each hole.
• Lemon icing troubleshooting: The lemon icing needs to be the perfect consistency. It should be thick enough to spoon over the cakes, coat the top and slowly drip down the edges. If your icing is too thick, add a drop of water to thin it down. If it’s too thin, add a heaped spoonful of icing sugar and mix until the icing thickens.
• How to store these loaf cakes: Keep the mini lemon drizzle cakes stored in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Mini Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes

These individual Mini Lemon Drizzle Loaf Cakes are a bitesize version of the classic, and are jam-packed with zingy lemony flavour! Made using fresh lemon zest, these soft and fluffy mini loaf cakes are infused with a sweet lemon juice drizzle. They're finished with lemon icing and lemon peel for an easy and delicious decoration. Mini loaf cakes are perfect for all occasions – parties, picnics, afternoon tea, bake sales and so on.

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Prep: 20 minutes minutes

Cook: 20 minutes minutes

Total: 40 minutes minutes

Servings: 12

Ingredients

For the lemon loaf cakes

• 200 grams Unsalted butter or margarine (I use Stork) if using butter make sure it's room temperature
• 200 grams Caster sugar
• 200 grams Self-raising flour
• 2 large Eggs room temperature
• 2 tbsp Milk whole or semi-skimmed
• 1 Lemon zest only

For the lemon drizzle

• 1 Lemon juice only (use the same lemon that was zested for the cake mixture)
• 50 g Caster sugar

For the lemon icing

• 150 g Icing sugar
• 1 Lemon zest and juice

Instructions

Start by making the loaf cakes:

• Preheat oven to 160°C fan / 180°C conventional. Lightly grease a 12-hole mini loaf tin with butter.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
  200 grams Unsalted butter or margarine (I use Stork), 200 grams Caster sugar
• Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. You can add 1 tbsp of the 200g flour with each egg to stop the mixture from curdling.
  2 large Eggs
• Add the flour, milk and lemon zest. Gently fold the mixture together until smooth and just combined.
  200 grams Self-raising flour, 2 tbsp Milk, 1 Lemon
  
• Divide the mixture evenly between the tin, filling each hole ¾ full. The easiest way to do this is to spoon the cake mixture into a large piping bag and pipe the mixture into each hole. Less messy and much quicker!
  
• Bake for 20 minutes until risen and lightly golden.

To make the lemon drizzle:

• In a small bowl stir the lemon juice and sugar together.
  1 Lemon, 50 g Caster sugar
• As soon as the loaf cakes are out of the oven, use a toothpick or skewer to prick holes all over the top of each one.
• Spoon over the lemon drizzle, letting it to sink into the sponge.
  
• Let the loaf cakes cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the outside of each cake and carefully release from the tin. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the lemon icing:

• First use a citrus zester, grater or knife to create lemon zest peel. Keep aside to use as decoration.
  1 Lemon
• Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl and add the icing sugar. Stir to make a smooth and thick icing (too thin/too thick? Check out the troubleshooting notes in the blog post above).
  150 g Icing sugar
• Pour the icing on top of each loaf cake, letting it drip down the sides.
• Sprinkle a little lemon peel on top for decoration. Enjoy!
  

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