Madeira Cake
Servings 10
Madeira Cake is a delicious loaf cake, perfect to keep on hand for unexpected guests. This moist and tender cake reminds me a little bit of pound cake.
Ingredients
- 1 cup softened butter plus extra for greasing the loaf pan
- 1 cup granulated or caster sugar You will also need an extra couple of tablespoons of sugar to sprinkle over the cake before it is baked.
- 3 eggs
- 1 lemon, zest and juice
- 1⅓ cups self-rising flour
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour all purpose flour is also known as plain flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract optional, and not traditional, but it tastes lovely
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C (325°F) or 150°C (300°F) for fan ovens.
- Butter a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 7 cm) loaf pan. You can line it with baking parchment too if you like.
- Mix the self-rising flour and the all-purpose flour together in a medium bowl and set aside.
- Put the softened butter and sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer and cream them together either with a wooden spoon or the mixer. (Cream means to beat together thoroughly, scraping the bowl down regularly. It will take about 4 minutes in an electric mixer.)
- Stir the lemon zest into the creamed butter and sugar.
- Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, adding one tablespoon of the flour mixture with each egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat thoroughly between the addition of each egg.
- Gently fold in the remaining flour.
- Stir in the lemon juice and vanilla or almond flavouring, if using.
- Transfer the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle the top of the batter with a tablespoon or so of sugar.
- Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.
- Place the loaf pan on a wire rack to cool completely before removing the cake from the pan.
Notes
Slightly adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson.
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Equipment
- 1 loaf pan 9 x 5 x 3 inches or 23 x 13 x 7 cm
- 1 wooden spoon OR
- 1 electric or hand held mixer
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