Mary Berry's lemon drizzle traybake has been a firm favourite since the 1960s, with the former Great British Bake Off judge calling it her most asked-about recipe. Now she has revealed the one ingredient that makes all the difference to achieving that 'light as a feather' texture: baking spread.
The key: soft baking spread
According to Mary, baking spread - whether butter or margarine - must be soft at room temperature before it is added to the sugar. If it is too cold and hard, it won't cream properly to create the tiny air bubbles that give the cake its fluffiness, leaving a dense texture instead.
Mary explains the process in a YouTube video: 'If you like to use butter, it must be really soft.' The creaming of the butter and sugar is crucial, so it should be done thoroughly for a light-tasting cake.
The recipe
For the cake, you will need 225g of baking spread and 225g of sugar, creamed together. Then add 275g of self-raising flour, four eggs, two teaspoons of baking powder and four tablespoons of milk. Grate the zest of two lemons into the mixture, and for extra flavour you can add one tablespoon of chopped lemon verbena leaves - though as Mary notes, 'the recipe will still work without it'.
Beat all the ingredients together with an electric whisk or mixer for about one minute until the mixture turns 'beautifully smooth'. Pour it into a well-greased 23 by 30 centimetre traybake tin lined with non-stick paper, and bake at 160C for about 35 to 40 minutes.
Lemon drizzle topping
While the cake bakes, make the topping by squeezing the juice of two lemons into a bowl and adding 175g of granulated sugar. Once the cake is baked, leave it to cool for 10 minutes, then brush the topping over the cake, making sure to get it to the edges.
After the topping has soaked in, the cake is ready to slice. Mary says: 'Now, I cannot resist. That is as light as a feather. You can just see the flecks of lemon verbena. That is sheer bliss. When I've finished that, I'm quite sure I'd be ready for another slice.'
