If you’re looking for a delicious and versatile loaf cake, you’re going to want to try making this lemon and sultana cake. It’s seriously simple and incredibly tasty – and you’re going to enjoy making it as much as you enjoy eating it!
Sultanas are good friends of loaf cakes, and are often used in fruit loaf cakes like this bara brith. However, if you’re looking for something a bit lighter, this sultana cake will be the one for you.
Imagine this as a traditional fruit cake crossed with a lemon drizzle cake. It’s absolutely delicious and the best of both worlds!
Serve this delightful loaf cake with a cup of tea and enjoy!
If you like this loaf cake, you will also enjoy:
- Apple Loaf Cake
- Blackberry Loaf Cake
- Summer Fruit Cake
- Lime and Ginger Cake
- Traditional Welsh Bara Brith (Tea Cake)
- Coconut and Mango Loaf Cake
- Savoury Olive and Halloumi Loaf Cake

Lemon and Sultana Cake – The Ingredients
- Softened butter – use either salted or unsalted, whichever you prefer. Salted will bring out the flavour more.
- Caster sugar – use caster sugar here because it is light in colour and flavour.
- Eggs – this recipe calls for three eggs. Make sure they’re fresh.
- Self-raising flour– gives the cake its rise. You could switch for plain flour and baking powder, but as I haven’t tested that with this particular recipe I’m afraid I can’t recommend an amount of baking powder.
- Lemon – fresh lemon zest gives the cake its zing. Don’t substitute for juice – that will throw off the texture of the cake.
- Sultanas – the key ingredient! You could switch for raisins.

How to Make Sultana Cake
This cake is simple, but as with any loaf cake it’s important to follow the steps carefully. Here are my top tips to making it a success:
- You can use a kitchen aid or similar mixer to help you make this cake, but it’s absolutely not necessary. Just make sure your butter is nice and soft and it’ll be easy to mix by hand (pro tip – pop the butter in a bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds before starting).
- Don’t over mix, especially after the flour is added. As soon as it’s all combined, stop stirring.
- To make sure the cake is cooked through before removing it from the oven, poke a skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it comes out with batter clinging to it, it needs more time. Give it another ten minutes before trying again.
- To stop the sultanas from sinking to the bottom of the cake, make sure that you don’t overwork the cake batter. Stop mixing when it is all combined. Also, don’t open the oven door during the early stages of cooking because this can also cause sultanas to sink.
- You can ice the cake if you choose to. Either use a simple sugar and lemon juice mix drizzled over the top – like with a lemon drizzle case – or mix lemon juice with icing sugar for a more traditional icing.
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Lemon and Sultana Cake
March 29, 2024Ingredients
- 140 g softened butter
- 140 g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 225 g self-raising flour
- 1 lemon
- 150 g sultanas
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Line a 2lb loaf tin with a loaf tin liner or baking paper.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, until fully combined.
- Fold in the flour, making sure that it is all mixed in well.
- Zest the lemon. Add this to the bowl along with the sultanas. Stir until they are fairly evenly distributed.
- Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin. Put it into the oven for one hour, until risen, golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
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