A small poll of 2000 English cake eaters announced yesterday that we have a new national favourite bake.

The top of our bake parade is the humble lemon drizzle, a lemon sponge drenched in sticky, tart, lemon syrup and topped with crunchy sugar. I confess I am a lemon drizzle lover.

What you may not know is that our very own Evelyn Rose may well have created the original recipe, which she first shared in the JC more than 50 years ago in July 1967. 

“As far as I can tell” says daughter, Judi Rose, "Mum’s recipe was the first ever lemon drizzle cake published in the UK. First in her JC column and later, in the Compete International Jewish Cookery Book. She called it Luscious Lemon Cake, and it was to become one of her most famous/signature recipes.”

Judi has looked online and at various old cookbooks and has not found anything like it that pre-dates the Evelyn Rose recipe for a cake with lemon syrup on the top.

So, there you have it. Britain’s cake eaters may well have the JC to thank for their now favourite bake.

In case you’re interested, the top 20 cakes in the poll — commissioned by Protein World, to push their low calorie baking mixes — is below. Sadly, not a honey cake in sight.

Poll results:

1. Lemon drizzle 40%

2. Chocolate fudge cake 38%

3. Carrot cake 37%

4. Chocolate brownie 36%

5. Victoria sponge 35%

6. Chocolate muffin 31%

7. Sticky toffee pudding 29%

8. Coffee and walnut cake 28%

9. Black forest gateau 26%

10. Blueberry muffin 26%

11. Fruit cake 25%

12. Swiss roll 23%

13. Battenburg 19%

14. Madeira cake 18%

15. Fairy cakes 18%

16. Angel cakes 18%

17. Butterfly cakes 17%

18. Chelsea bun 16%

19. Red velvet 15%

20. Date and walnut loaf 12%