The Madeira cake is an Anglo-Saxon dessert excellent to enjoy with a good cup of tea. Thanks to its soft yet more substantial texture than sponge cake, it is widely used in creating multi-layered cakes like naked cakes or cakes covered with sugar paste.
The recipe is very simple and the ingredients are really few; it is much loved by those who make tiered cakes because it is easier to make than sponge cake thanks to the presence of baking powder and the less complex procedure.
Online you will find very tall Madeira cakes, you just need to use smaller molds to have a base of the preferred height; be careful with the baking, the taller the mold the more likely the cakes will not cook well in the center, personally, I prefer to make two low ones and stack them.
The Madeira cake gets its name from the Portuguese Madeira wine that became very popular in England in the 19th century and is still served today with this soft cake.
The version I propose to you is by Mary Berry, a well-known English pastry chef and cook thanks to her participation in Bake Off UK.
Also try the other pastry bases:
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 7 People
- Cooking methods: Electric Oven
- Cuisine: English
- Seasonality: All Seasons
- Energy 737.74 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 43.83 (g) of which sugars 23.68 (g)
- Proteins 38.68 (g)
- Fat 46.08 (g) of which saturated 22.85 (g)of which unsaturated 19.75 (g)
- Fibers 1.44 (g)
- Sodium 385.08 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 100 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 3/4 cup butter (soft)
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 eggs (large at room temperature)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- lemon zest (grated, zest of one large organic lemon needed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
Tools
- 1 Bowl
- 1 Electric whisk
- 1 Sieve
- 1 Cake pan 9.5 inches in diameter
Method
Leave the butter at room temperature for 1 hour, it must be soft. Alternatively, use the microwave.
Sift the flour with the baking powder, add the almond flour and mix.
Grate the zest of a large organic lemon.
In a large bowl, pour the soft butter, sugar, vanilla, grated lemon zest and beat the mixture with an electric whisk until it is fluffy and light. Start at low speed then move to medium speed, it will take 3/4 minutes.
While continuing to beat the mixture, add the eggs one at a time, allowing them to incorporate slowly without losing the fluffiness of the mixture.
Then add the sifted flours with the baking powder in 3 or 4 times, working the mixture only as long as necessary to combine the ingredients.
The mixture is ready.
Butter and flour the mold, pour the mixture inside and level it gently.
Bake the cake in a preheated static oven at 356°F for about 40 minutes.
Perform the toothpick test to check the cooking.
The Madeira cake is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool for 15 minutes.
Take it out of the mold and let it cool completely. You can enjoy it sprinkled with powdered sugar or cut it into layers and fill as desired.
Tips
Storage
The Madeira cake keeps at room temperature for 4/5 days well covered.
You can freeze it either whole or in slices.
***********************
For tips on making recipes contact me on FACEBOOK and, if you like, follow me on INSTAGRAM
Send me your photos, I will gladly publish them on my social media
