For the Cake

• 200 g butter, softened
• 200 g caster sugar
• zest of 2 lemons
• 2 large eggs
• 110 ml full fat milk
• 200 g self-raising flour
• 1½ teaspoons baking powder

For the Drizzle

• juice of 3 lemons (about 90ml)
• 90 g caster sugar

• 23 x 13cm loaf tin

Grease and line your tin with greaseproof paper. Preheat your oven to 170°C (150°C fan).

Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest together in a large bowl until fluffy and pale – use the balloon whisk attachment if you are using a mixer and stop occasionally to scrape the mix off the sides of the bowl so it is evenly mixed. This can take up to 15 minutes to get it really fluffy, even using an electric mixer. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for at least two to three minutes between each egg. Beat in the milk – it will look curdled but that’s ok, just keep on beating and it will get past this point. Once the milk is fully incorporated, sieve the flour and baking powder over the wet ingredients and gently fold them in using your hand or a wooden spoon to get a thick, smooth cake batter. Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf tin and bake near the bottom of the oven for 60 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. Be careful only to test it with a skewer when the top of the loaf no longer wobbles or it will flop in the middle.

Put the lemon juice and caster sugar into a small pan. When the cake is ready to take out of the oven, put the syrup pan on a medium heat and gently bring to a simmer. Cook till the sugar is dissolved and the syrup is clear, but don’t let it thicken or colour. Drizzle the syrup evenly over the hot loaf and leave it to cool in the tin on a rack.