Cream together butter and sugar until smooth & fluffy.
226 g Unsalted Butter, 220 g White Sugar
Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Fold in the sieved flour until combined.
4 Eggs, 266 g Self-raising Flour*
Mix in the milk and vanilla extract, then fold in the lemon zest.
4 tbsp Full Fat Milk*, 1 tsp Vanilla Extract, Zest of 2 Lemons
Pour the cake batter into a greased/lined cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until golden and risen.
Set the cake aside to rest for 10 minutes to let it slightly cool down.
In the meantime, make the topping by mixing together the sugar and lemon juice.
150 g Sugar, Juice of 2 Lemons
Spread the lemon syrup over the top of the cake and let it set. Enjoy!
Notes
You can substitute the self-raising flour with an equivalent amount of plain flour + 1 tsp of baking powder.
To soften the butter, make sure you set it aside at room temperature 1-2 hours prior to starting the recipe. Check out the full blog post for alternative methods if you are short on time.
Full-fat milk is recommended for this recipe as the fat content helps to create a rich & moist texture for the cake. Semi-skimmed milk could still work but skimmed milk is not recommended.