Easy Madeira Loaf
Madeira Loaf is a plain, sort of boring cake. But don’t be fooled by the looks of it, it is actually quite moreish. We love it with a little spread of butter and a cup of tea. Every good Madeira Loaf I’ve eaten has a fine crumb with a crack on top. I think mine ticks all the boxes, I am so chuffed with the way it turned out. A Madeira Loaf recipe should have similar amounts of sugar, butter and eggs but more flour. I think my recipe is close enough. It also has a subtle hint of lemon and some vanilla.
Making the Cake Batter
Everyone has their own technique when baking a sponge cake or similar. For me the beating of the eggs and sugar first works always, the genoise method. This technique traps air into the batter. So please do not leave this batter lying around, you need to have all your ingredients at the ready to add to this egg/sugar batter or the air will subside. I know you wouldn’t usually use this method for a madeira cake. I’m the kind of woman that likes to break the rules. So trust me on this, it works. Usually for this method of baking there is no added leavener, chemical or yeast, the cake’s rising is driven by the air that is beaten into eggs. I also add the ingredients almost all together at the end. This prevents me from over mixing. I also use a large bowl so it’s easier to combine the ingredients, again without over mixing. But you get that I just did my own thing here and it works. For me it’s all about making life simple. Yes, I get that I am a little crazy…Lol! The cake does get quite brown. If you don’t want the crust too brown you can cover it with some foil in the last 15 minutes of baking. We love the brown crust, that’s my favourite bit of the cake.
Freezing the cake
This cake also freezes well. I usually wrap my cakes in cling wrap, then cover it with foil and freeze. The cake must be completely cool before freezing. You can remove it from the freezer a few hours before serving
Some of my delicious loaves to try: Eggless Chocolate Banana Bread Best Ever Lemon Loaf Recipe Cinnamon Coffee Cake If you loved this, please share!
