Madeira cake is such a versatile cake. It’s tasty enough to eat just as it is with a lovely cup of tea, or why not add your favourite flavours and toppings. I like to eat mine with a thick layer of jam and buttercream. But, I have used it for cake pops, as a base for fully decorated birthday cakes and even a Baked Alaska.
This recipe will produce a loaf that should serve about 6-8 people, you can double it for a larger cake, but make sure to turn the oven down a touch and cook it longer.
Madeira Cake
Ingredients
- 175 g Golden Caster Sugar
- 175 g Softened Butter
- 3 Large Eggs Room Temperature
- 1 Zest of Lemon Grated, reserve lemon for later
- 1/4 tsp Vanilla Paste
- 200 g Self Raising Flour
- 50 g Almond Flour Ground Almonds
Instructions
- 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.
Enjoy!