top 12 recipes of 2012
happy thanksgiving!
roasted spaghetti squash with sausage
butternut squash with pecans and blue cheese
seeded maple granola
madeira cake
This cake is a simple English treat – lemony but not overly so, nor too sweet, and perfect with some thick compote or a dollop of lemon curd on top.
I spent several hours on Friday night baking for the bake sale I mentioned participating in. I made double chocolate chunk cookies with sea salt and lemon-drenched lemon cake – two of my favourites! But of course, since I was packaging it up for other people I didn’t get a chance to steal myself a slice of cake and so I was left hankering for something lemony.
Enter this cake. Yes, lemony, but a completely different beast to that other one. This is much more of a simple everyday cake, jazzed up with some lemon zest and juice and perfect if you’re in the mood for something sweet but not dessert-like or cloying.
I always thought that Madeira cake came from the islands of Madeira, but no! Evidently, centuries back in the U.K. it was popular to eat a slice of this cake with a glass of Madeira wine. If you have some on hand then please give it a go and report back but personally I’d recommend it with a good cup of tea. Enjoy!
Madeira Cake
adapted from Nigella Lawson
Ingredients
- 240g/8.25oz softened unsalted butter
- 200g/7oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
- 3 large eggs
- 320g/ 2.5 cups all-purpose/plain flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 170ºC/330F. Butter a 9- by 5- inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf tin, buttered and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda and set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy and light, and add the lemon zest.
- Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the flour for each egg to prevent the mixture curdling.
- Gently mix in the rest of the flour and, finally, the lemon juice. Transfer batter to prepared pan and sprinkle with about 2 tbsp sugar. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a cake-tester comes out clean.
- Remove to a wire rack, and let cool in the tin before turning out.
Category: recipe | Tags: british food, cake, lemon love, recipes, sweet treats 8 comments »
April 30th, 2012 at 4:56 pm
I decided a few months ago that madeira cake was most likely my favourite cake of all time. It’s such a subtle flavour and a perfect texture. Love.
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April 30th, 2012 at 7:32 pm
Can you advise what size pan to use? An 8 x 8 or 9 x 13. Thanks.
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Angharad Reply:
April 30th, 2012 at 8:30 pm
Hi Connie,
Thanks for asking that question – I’ve updated the recipe to include that detail – for the record I used a 9- by 5- inch (23 x 13 cm) tin.
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Connie C. Reply:
May 3rd, 2012 at 9:39 am
Thank you! :)
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April 30th, 2012 at 11:02 pm
I can quite sincerely say that this looks like the best madeira cake I’ve ever seen. Normally I think of them as quite boring and dry – clearly, I’ve just never seen one done well! Thanks for the recipe, I will be tucking it away.
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May 1st, 2012 at 1:00 pm
so, so, so lovely! you are officially the citrus queen.
caught up on all your posts and officially want some buckwheat waffles right now, even though i am trying to detox (read: eat clean) post-marathon b/c i’ve essentially used the marathon to rationalize eating EVERYTHING.
oy vey.
anyways, major updates coming your way. love, love.
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May 2nd, 2012 at 9:02 am
[...] sandwiches; cheese-stuffed millet patties; sundried tomatoes, ramps, and white beans; Madeira cake; asparagus and beef in shacha sauce; and rhubarb crunch coffee cake. » Rhubarb Crunch [...]
May 7th, 2012 at 8:00 am
I made this and it came out looking beautiful. But it is a bit dry. I noticed that the batter was very stiff. I added some milk to thin it. But the cake is still quite dry….I wonder what I could have done wrong?
Thank you for the recipe! I always wondered why it was called Madeira cake!
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