Step 1

Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease and line a 900g loaf tin.

Step 2

Put the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream together until smooth, light and fluffy. I do this with electric beaters.

Step 3

Beat in the eggs a little at a time - to make sure the mixture doesn’t curdle. Once smooth and combined, stir through the lemon zest.

Step 4

Then fold the flour until combined.

Step 5

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40 – 50 minutes until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Do check the cake occasionally as some ovens are hotter than others. Mine is fan-assisted so my sponge can be done in around 40ish minutes.

Step 6

Remove from the oven, make some holes in the sponge with a skewer and pour over the juice of 1 lemon and allow to soak into the cake. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 15 minutes and then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Step 7

Once the cake is cooled, sieve the icing sugar into a bowl. Gradually stir through the lemon juice until you a pourable icing consistency. Don't add all the lemon juice in one go, do it bit by bit, until you are happy. You may not need all of it.

Step 8

Pour the icing over the top of the cake and use a palette knife to smooth the icing to cover the top of the cake, allow the icing to drip down the sides of the loaf and let it set.

Step 9

You can decorate with lemon zest or even slices of sugared lemons - or not at all. The cake will be ready to eat just as it is