...this is one cake that I love to eat, but have never attempted to make before today...
There are so many marvellously rich and complex cakes out there, but I often crave the buttery, lusciousness of a thick slice of 'Plain' Madeira Cake...I find there is no other 'plain' cake like it...moist, yellow and totally addictively delicious, loved by all our family...and to my shame I have to say I always buy mine!!! But not today....today I have set myself the challenge of baking one with my own fair hands...
which to many may seem a pretty poor challenge, and one that doesn't require much skill...but believe me...loaf tins and I do not get on to say we have a love-hate relationship would be halfway right...(more of a hate-hate you see...) I have one cake that does come out as it should do which is baked in a loaf tin, and that is the only one!! (I will share it with you at a later date) Every other time I have attempted any recipe that requires "The Loaf Tin" to come out of the cupboard disaster strikes...usually in the form of an uncooked soggy middle, or a volcano of cake mix spewing out all over my oven shelves!!! So it is with great trepidation that I embark on today's bake...
I spent breakfast this morning with Nigella's "How to be a Domestic Goddess" perched next to my coffee and toast...and the laptop had been used to search for and bookmark several variations on the theme...but I think I may stick to The Domestic Goddess's version (or rather her Mother-in Law's) as my first attempt...the link will take you to Nigella's recipe on her website...it is a carbon copy of the one printed in the book, but I would really say get the book, as there are some stunning recipes in there to suit all occasions and tastes...
Anyway, I digress...as I sit and type my 240g of unsalted butter is softening, ready to be beaten with 200g of caster sugar...some wonderfully fragrant lemons were bought for this, and 1 is juiced and zested, ready to add the zest to the light and fluffy sugary butter mix...followed by 3 large eggs, to stop the chance of the mixture looking curdled, a tablespoon of flour from the total mix (210g plain & 90g self-raising) gets added with each egg...the rest of the flour then gets gently mixed into it all with the lemon juice right at the end...This gloriously, luxurious cake batter gets poured into a 2lb loaf tin, mine is the same as Nigella's 23x13x7cm...lined and greased...sprinkle a wee bit more caster sugar over the top of the mix and bake, Gas 3/170c, for about an hour or until a skewer comes out clean...let the cake cool in the tin, and once it has (if you can wait that long) serve in thick slices with a cup of coffee...or as a quick and easy pud, add some mascarpone sweetened with icing sugar, fresh berries and a drizzle of lemon curd...a sort of back-to-front lemony-berry trifle if you want...It sounds a simple cake to bake...just look at the step-by-step photos to see for yourself...
...however you serve it, there is no nicer 'plain' cake than a madeira...it is definitely a "cut and come back again for more" kind of cake...and after today's success a definite "bake again" kind of cake :-)
There are so many marvellously rich and complex cakes out there, but I often crave the buttery, lusciousness of a thick slice of 'Plain' Madeira Cake...I find there is no other 'plain' cake like it...moist, yellow and totally addictively delicious, loved by all our family...and to my shame I have to say I always buy mine!!! But not today....today I have set myself the challenge of baking one with my own fair hands...
which to many may seem a pretty poor challenge, and one that doesn't require much skill...but believe me...loaf tins and I do not get on to say we have a love-hate relationship would be halfway right...(more of a hate-hate you see...) I have one cake that does come out as it should do which is baked in a loaf tin, and that is the only one!! (I will share it with you at a later date) Every other time I have attempted any recipe that requires "The Loaf Tin" to come out of the cupboard disaster strikes...usually in the form of an uncooked soggy middle, or a volcano of cake mix spewing out all over my oven shelves!!! So it is with great trepidation that I embark on today's bake...
I spent breakfast this morning with Nigella's "How to be a Domestic Goddess" perched next to my coffee and toast...and the laptop had been used to search for and bookmark several variations on the theme...but I think I may stick to The Domestic Goddess's version (or rather her Mother-in Law's) as my first attempt...the link will take you to Nigella's recipe on her website...it is a carbon copy of the one printed in the book, but I would really say get the book, as there are some stunning recipes in there to suit all occasions and tastes...
Anyway, I digress...as I sit and type my 240g of unsalted butter is softening, ready to be beaten with 200g of caster sugar...some wonderfully fragrant lemons were bought for this, and 1 is juiced and zested, ready to add the zest to the light and fluffy sugary butter mix...followed by 3 large eggs, to stop the chance of the mixture looking curdled, a tablespoon of flour from the total mix (210g plain & 90g self-raising) gets added with each egg...the rest of the flour then gets gently mixed into it all with the lemon juice right at the end...This gloriously, luxurious cake batter gets poured into a 2lb loaf tin, mine is the same as Nigella's 23x13x7cm...lined and greased...sprinkle a wee bit more caster sugar over the top of the mix and bake, Gas 3/170c, for about an hour or until a skewer comes out clean...let the cake cool in the tin, and once it has (if you can wait that long) serve in thick slices with a cup of coffee...or as a quick and easy pud, add some mascarpone sweetened with icing sugar, fresh berries and a drizzle of lemon curd...a sort of back-to-front lemony-berry trifle if you want...It sounds a simple cake to bake...just look at the step-by-step photos to see for yourself...
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| Sugar and butter beaten until light and fluffy... |
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| In goes the lemon zest... |
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| Egg by egg and a spoonful of flour for each one... |
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| A quick mix to combine... |
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| In goes the remaining mix of flours... |
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| Slowly does it... |
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| last but not least lemon juice... |
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| Pour it into the tin... |
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| A sprinkle of shimmery sugar... |
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| An hour later...baked to perfection... |
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| Can you tell the difference? |
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| Of course I had to test it... |
I like this cake too. Yours has just turned out perfect. Yum!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alida, I was so pleased with the way it turned out...will be making it again and again...
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