LU Le Petit Citron: Soft Bakes, Lemon and Earl Grey

LU Le Petit Citron: What a Soft Bake Is

Soft bakes are not biscuits that have lost their crunch; they are baked to a different moisture level from the start. That single choice explains why these lemon bakes bend, why they come portioned and why they belong beside the cup rather than in it.

Published 26 Sep 2026 Curator-written, not crowdsourced

LU Le Petit Citron: What a Soft Bake Is, in summary: Five lemon-flavoured soft bakes, 28g each, taken from the oven while still moist so they bend rather than snap and eat like small cakes. Skip the dunk and serve them with Earl Grey or a plain green tea.

Last reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in September 2026.

Soft bakes are not biscuits that have lost their crunch; they are baked to a different moisture level from the start. That single choice explains why these lemon bakes bend, why they come portioned and why they belong beside the cup rather than in it.

Baked to bend, not to snap

Ordinary biscuits stay in the oven until almost all the water has gone, and that dryness is the snap. A soft bake leaves the oven while it is still moist, so it bends, and in the mouth it is more small cake than shortbread. Moisture also carries flavour to the tongue quickly, which is why the sweetness and the lemon arrive together rather than one after the other.

LU spells out the format on the pack: Citron for lemon, soft bakes for the texture, five to the pack. At 140g that works out at 28g a bake, a sensible single portion for a lunchbox, a handbag or a mid-morning break, when chocolate feels like too much and you want something fruity instead.

What is in them

The published ingredient list opens with wheat flour at 23%, then eggs, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar and rapeseed oil, with glycerol as a stabiliser, milk fat, flavouring, raising agents, milk powders, salt and an emulsifier. Lemon juice concentrate comes last, at a fraction of a per cent. By that list they contain wheat (gluten), milk and egg, so they are not a gluten-free option.

Read in that order, the list explains the taste. With only a trace of lemon juice and plenty of sugar, and the soft, damp crumb softening the citrus edge further, expect a sweet bake with a bright lemon note rather than the sharpness of a lemon tart. Judged on those terms it does its job, and the tender crumb is its best feature.

Serving: a warm plate, Earl Grey and no dunking

Do not dunk them. A crisp biscuit softens slowly in hot tea because it has a dry frame to lose; a soft bake has no frame, so it just collapses. The lemon also reads better dry, because its aroma is light and volatile and is the best part of the bake. Leave one on a warm plate for ten seconds or so and the lemon comes up; straight from a cold cupboard they taste flatter.

Pour Earl Grey first: the bergamot in it is another citrus, so the tea and the bake point the same way. Second choice is a plain green tea, which gives the sugar a clean finish, and a light Ceylon also works. Skip heavy, malty blends, which swamp something this light. If it has to be coffee, choose a lighter roast or a filter, taken black.

The packs we stock

LU Le Petit Citron Lemon Flavoured Soft Bakes, 5 Pack 140g (barcode 7622201500061)

What the label says

The published ingredient list for LU Le Petit Citron Lemon Flavoured Soft Bakes, 5 Pack 140g (barcode 7622201500061) says it contains wheat (gluten), milk and egg. Check the current Petit Citron pack before buying; LU may change the recipe and its gluten, milk and egg warning.

Ingredients, as published: WHEAT flour 23 %, EGGS, glucose-fructose 140 g syrup, sugar, rapeseed oil, stabilizer (glycerol), MILK fat, flavoring, raising agents (diphosphates, sodium carbonates), skimmed MILK powder, salt, whole MILK powder, emulsifier (E471), lemon juice concentrate 0.1%.

Typical values per 100g	Per 100g
Energy	447 kcal
Fat	25g
of which saturates	5.9g
Carbohydrate	53g
of which sugars	26g
Fibre	0.8g
Protein	4.9g
Salt	0.6g

Ingredient and nutrition data for this barcode: Open Food Facts (openfoodfacts.org), ODbL. Your pack of soft bakes has the last word.

What to drink with it

Twinings Loose Leaf Earl Grey Tea, 125g: a pot of loose Earl Grey, whose citrus note runs alongside the lemon.
Teapigs Darjeeling Earl Grey, 15 Tea Bags 37.5g: Earl Grey made with Darjeeling, lighter in the cup, so the soft bake is not swamped.
Twinings Scotland's Ceylon Tea (International Blend), 20 Tea Bags 40g: a light Ceylon for anyone who wants a plain black tea beside the lemon.

Elsewhere in the Lu range

The full range is on the Lu brand page.

FAQ

What is a soft bake? A bake taken out of the oven while it still holds moisture, so it bends instead of snapping. It eats more like a small cake than a biscuit.

How many are in a pack of LU Le Petit Citron? Five, in a 140g pack, which works out at 28g each.

Can you dunk LU Le Petit Citron? No. With no dry structure to hold it together, a soft bake falls apart in hot tea.

What tea goes with lemon soft bakes? Earl Grey first, then a plain green tea or a light Ceylon. Avoid strong, malty breakfast blends.

Do LU Le Petit Citron soft bakes contain egg? Yes. By the published ingredient list they contain egg, milk and wheat (gluten).

Curator's note: Warm the plate, pour an Earl Grey and have one mid-morning. Save the chocolate for later in the day. Lee, teas.co.uk, Tunbridge Wells.

In short: LU Le Petit Citron: What a Soft Bake Is

Field	Detail
Brand	Lu
Packs we stock	5 Pack 140g
Category	Biscuits
Allergens (as published)	It contains wheat (gluten), milk and egg.
Dunkable	No, it falls apart
Texture	Soft and cake-like, bends rather than snaps
Best with	Earl Grey or a plain green tea