First, your oven needs to be pre-heated to 150c (fan)/170c/Gas Mark 3.
Then, grease and line your tin, this recipe will fit nicely into a 2lb loaf tin.
Now, beat your butter and sugar until light and creamy – I recommend an electric whisk for this, otherwise it will take forever.
Continue beating as you add one egg at a time, the lemon zest and finally the vanilla.
Sift in the flours and beat again until only just mixed. The batter should be thick – to test it, take a spoonfull and turn it on it’s side. It should slowly fall off the spoon. If it slips right off it’s too wet – add a little flour. If it maintains it’s shape and barely moves then mix in a squeeze of lemon juice. Keep going until you get it just right.
Pour your batter into the tin and level it out, then bake it in the centre of your oven.
It’ll take around an hour to bake but I always start checking it after 50 minutes. It should be a lovely golden colour and the top should be cracked, but you’ll know it’s definitely cooked when you insert a skewer into the centre and it comes out lovely and clean. If you are not sure, pop it back in for five more minutes and check it again.
Leave it in the tin for 15 minutes to firm up before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Once it’s cool you can keep it in a sealed container for a few days, or freeze it for another time, but personally I would just get stuck in with my fork.
Notes
Save time and effort by using pre-formed tin liners instead of cutting and folding parchment paper.