Cranberry Orange Madeira Bundt Cake
Cranberry orange Madeira bundt cake is my twist on classic British bake Madeira cake. Synonymous with New Year in Scotland, this is a simple cake to bake, not too sweet, doesn't need any decorating so ideal for beginner bakers or Christmas gifting.
Cranberry Orange Madeira Bundt Cake
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What Is A Madeira Cake?
Madeira cake is a popular British cake. A classic that is usually in loaf cake form, with a closer texture than a Victoria Sandwich cake. It is similar in composition to American Pound Cake, but has the addition of ground almonds (almond flour), and a very golden crust to it.
Classic Madeira cake is plain and not overly sweet, but cherry & sultana versions are often around at Hogmanay, along with Traditional Scottish Shortbread.
(Check out all my New Year & Party recipes page.)
Where Does Madeira Cake Come From?
Contrary to common belief, Madeira Cake does not contain Madeira wine and didn’t originate from Madeira in Portugal either. Madeira cake actually first appeared in a published recipe by Eliza Acton, in 1845, called Modern Cookery For Private Families1.
Why Is It Called Madeira Cake?
So why is it called Madeira cake you ask? Well it is thought that the name Madeira cake was given to this cake as it was often served alongside some madeira wine.
Why Make This Madeira Bundt?
- Quick to make
- Easy to prepare, so a great beginner recipe
- No decorating needed
- Not too sweet
- No special equipment required
- Tastes GREAT
- Use fresh or frozen cranberries
- Easily adapted with different fruit
Ingredients List & Notes
- Sugar
- Butter, unsalted
- Eggs
- Flour
- Baking Powder
- Ground Almonds (Almond Flour)
- Fresh Cranberries
- Orange Extract
- Orange Juice & Zest (optional)
- EGGS – UK medium or large sized used, roughly US large or extra large.
- ORANGE EXTRACT – Valencian orange extract is highly recommended. I buy Asda & Sainsbury’s shop own brand, or Cake Décor brand found in Morrisons & Sainsbury’s. ‘Orange flavour’ bottles not great and orange or even tangerine zest would be better.
**Ingredient amounts are listed in the Recipe Card below.
Caster sugar is used and equivalent is Extra/Super Fine Sugar. Alternatively, you can make your own by processing granulated sugar. See my UK sugar comparison photo.
I have tested the recipe with UK Self-raising flour, & Plain flour. Plain flour requires the addition of the baking powder, & the US equivalent is All Purpose flour. So omit the baking if using Self-raising.
Ground Almonds give a lovely texture and added moisture to Maderia cake. As a substitute, use Almond Flour or Fine Almond Meal. Alternatively you can grind your own almonds. YouTube has many videos on this, but basically you are bashing the almonds in a food bag, (skins on) & then processing. See my comparison photo of ground almond to regular flour. Read my article about Differences Between UK & US Baking Ingredients.
‘Fresh Cranberries’ are used but you can also use frozen ones. Just don’t defrost them and coat in flour, just before folding into the cake batter. (More on that tip below).
Ingredient Substitutes
US & Canadian alternatives are listed above & in the recipe Card. The following alternatives also work well:
Blueberries – are a good substitute for cranberries and work well in Madeira cake.
Red Plums – are my absolute favourite substitute when cranberries are out of season or have none in the freezer. You can get a similar tart taste by using the red plums. Simply chop into small pieces, and coat in flour just like the cranberries. Here is a photo of the Red Plum Orange Madeira Muffins & Mini Bundts.
Lemon Extract or lemon zest, can be used in place of the orange extract & zest.
Recipe Equipment
Full equipment list in the Recipe card, but let’s talk bundt tins, or bundt pans. I used this really fancy one from TK Maxx (like T J Maxx). They had 4 kinds I believe and it was only £14.99 ($18.91 as at December 2023)! Not lightweight and has a slight rose gold colour to it.
It is by Bakers Street, a Pandora Fluted Bundt Pan, size 9.5 inch diameter, by 3.75 inches high (24.2 x 9.5cm). This is technically a 10 cup (2.5 litre) capacity, but for batter nearer to 7.6 cups (1.9 litre), to allow for a good rise.
This bundt tin, as seen in the photo is very detailed & intricate, which makes for a very pretty looking bundt cake.
Greasing Mini Bundts
As beautiful as these detailed bundts are, getting the cake to come out all in one piece is not also so easy. I have the solution however & only ever had a fail when I did not use Lining Paste! Also known as Cake Goop, you can make your own at home and with less expense than cake release or using butter and flour to grease.
Made just from flour, vegetable shortening & oil, you store in the fridge for whenever you need to grease something. Be sure to brush the lining paste on, in upward strokes, and take your time going all over the little nooks and crannies, applying it really well.
Recipe Yield – you will get 16 to 18 slices from the cake.
Experienced Bakers
Experienced bakers can skip the detailed step-by-step recipe instructions by clicking the link – Jump to Recipe
Top Tips
- To stop all of the cranberries sinking to the bottom of the cake tin, here is a great tip. Wash them in warm water, pat dry with kitchen paper/paper towel, before coating in 1 or 2 tbsp of flour. When you come to add to the cake batter, gently fold the cranberries in, in 3 increments to ensure even distribution. You can also hold a few flour-coated cranberries back, and place on top of the batter when already in the muffin case.
- If using frozen cranberries, no need to defrost or wash them, and coat in flour, immediately before adding to the cake batter.
Step-By-Step Instructions
1. Begin by washing your fresh cranberries in some warm water. Then gently pat dry with a tea-towel or some kitchen paper/paper towels. Add to a bowl with a few tbsps of flour & coat the cranberries, before leaving to the side. This stops all the cranberries sinking to the bottom of the cake.
**Note for frozen cranberries – only flour the frozen cranberries immediately before adding to the cake batter.
2. Weigh/measure out your ingredients (grams, ounces & cup measurements found in the Recipe Card below). Cube the butter about ½” (1¼ cm) & the smaller surface area will mean the butter softens quicker. If you forget, try this hack for softening butter in about 12 minutes.
3. Once the butter is soft & room temperature, ‘cream’ the butter with the sugar, by beating with a hand-mixer or stand-mixer, until smooth, spreadable and paler in colour. (See Photo collage 2).
4. Now add in one egg at a time, mixing well in-between each addition.
5. Sieve in the flour & baking powder (no need for baking powder if using UK Self-raising flour). Then add in the ground almonds (almond flour/fine almond meal), orange extract & juice of the orange.
6. Mix together, but only just until combined and no flour pockets remain. Do not overmix.
7. Finally fold in ½ of the flour-coated fresh cranberries by hand, with a spatula, only until covered with batter. Repeat with the remaining cranberries.
**Note for frozen cranberries, don’t defrost them and flour coat immediately before adding at this stage here. See Photo collage 3.
8. Heat the oven to: 180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4.
9. Next stage is to grease the bundt pan. Well grease it! Better do right when ready to use. Here I have used homemade ling paste (Cake Goop), like a cake release spray but in paste form. (See more about this before the instructions or go to Lining Paste review).
To use the paste, remove 2 tbsp from the jar and place in a small dish, from that you can brush onto the insides of the bundt tin, in upward strokes. Pay particular attention to applying well on the inner tube section. For the intricate detail of this pan, that is a little more tricky, so being sure to cover all areas and then doing a second coat with the remaining paste is what we are aiming for. It will be really well greased or lined, and do so all the way up to the top of the pan. (See Photo collage 4). Alternatively use a lot of cake release spray, or butter & flour.
10. Now spoon the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan. The batter is thick, so take your time spooning it in, trying to avoid rubbing any of the lining paste off of the inner tube section. You can top up with some more paste if needed.
11. Once all the batter is in the pan, use the back of a spoon or spatula to level off the batter as best you can. Give the pan a few taps on the worktop/counter, before placing on a baking sheet/tray & popping in the centre of the oven to bake.
12. Bake for about 40 minutes until well risen, a deep golden colour, cocktailstick comes out clean of crumbs and the cake is starting to come away from the side of the pan (see Photo 5, top right pic). If using a thermometer, you are looking for an internal temperature between 200°f & 210° f (93-99°c).
13. Once baked, leave in the pan on a cooling rack for 30 minutes, before placing a large plate/cake stand/platter on top of the cake. Holding all together, flip over allowing the cake to release onto the plate. Give a few taps if needed. Leave to cool a little longer.
14. You can of course glaze the cake, but that can either look great or ruin the details of the cake. So best to either leave as is, or dust in icing/powdered sugar. Use a very fine sieve or even a tea-strainer to dust all of the cake with the sugar. This is best done before cutting and serving.
15. Slice with a large sharp knife and serve on its own with some hot tea. Alternatively, some blueberry orange curd, lemon curd or your favourite jam one side would go down well.
16. Store the cake under a cake dome and it will last 7 to 10 days. Or store in an air tight container such as a deep cake or cookie tin.
17. You can freeze Madeira cake in individual slices, wrapped in parchment paper and then cling film/plastic wrap or foil and then in a labelled food bag for up to 3 months2.
Try some other Madeira cake recipes – (L to R, top to bottom) cranberry orange Madeira cake, the Classic Madeira Cake, Cranberry orange Madeira muffins & Blueberry Madeira mini bundts with homemade blueberry orange curd.
Recipe Card
Bakewell Bundt Cake
Equipment
- Digital scales or measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Stand/Hand-mixer
- Sieve
- Large Bundt Pan (Mine is a 10 cup/24cm (9½") diameter by 9½ cm (3¾") deep* – see notes)
- Cake release ( Homemade Lining Paste/Cake Goop or butter & flour*- see notes)
- Timer
- Wooden Cocktail stick
- Cooling rack
- Knife & chopping board
- Small bowl for cherries (plus 1-2 tbsp flour)
- Extra small fine brush (optional)
- Piping bag & small round nozzle (optional – or small food bag)
Ingredients
For The Cake Batter:
- 226 grams Butter ( 8 oz, 1 cup, – unsalted, cubed and softened )
- 226 grams Caster Sugar (8 oz, 1 cup Extra/Super Fine Sugar)* See notes
- 5 Medium -Large Eggs (US – Large to Extra Large)
- 225 grams Plain Flour (8 oz, 1 ¾ rounded cups All Purpose Flour, or UK Self-raising, less the baking powder* See notes)
- 3½ tsp Baking Powder (omit is using Self-raising)
- 65 grams Ground Almonds (2⅓ oz, ⅔ cup Almond Flour, ¾ cup fine Almond Meal) * see notes
- 2-2½ tsp Almond Extract
- 1½ tsp Orange Extract
- 161 grams Glacé Cherries (5⅔ oz, about ¾ cup Candied Cherries or Cocktail Cherries, whole*)
- 2¾ tsp Warm Water (or milk)
For Decoration:
- 62 grams Icing Sugar (2 oz, ½ cup, Powdered Sugar, sieved)
- ¼ tsp Almond Extract (add more to taste)
- 1½ tsp Water (or milk – please add gradually*)
- 15 grams Glacé Cherries (½ oz, about 10 cherry halves*)
Instructions
Prepare The Batter:
- Measure/weigh the butter & leave to soften. **Tip – cubing the butter to 1cm (⅓") pieces softens the butter quickly. Alternatively watch this softening butter hack and make sure the eggs are room temperature too.
- Meanwhile, the 161 grams Glacé Cherries should be washed in warm water, patted dry with kitchen paper (paper towel), cut in halves & tossed in 1-2 tbsp flour.
- Once softened, cream the 226 grams Butter & 226 grams Caster Sugar, before adding in one egg at a time, mixing in-between each addition.
- Sieve in the 225 grams Plain Flour & 3½ tsp Baking Powder, then add the 2-2½ tsp Almond Extract & 1½ tsp Orange Extract, followed by the 65 grams Ground Almonds .
- Mix briefly by hand before using a hand-mixer or stand-mixer to mix just until all ingredients are combined. The batter is thick, but if your batter is thicker than in the photos/video, add a few drops of warm water or milk.
- Set the oven to 180°c/160°c fan oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4.
- Fold in 1/3 of the flour coated cherries to the cake batter, reserve 8 cherries before folding the rest of the cherries.
- Well grease the bundt tin/pan, with cake release spray, homemade lining paste/cake goop or butter & flour. (See the step-by-step instructions of the video for applying the lining paste).
- Carefully add the batter to the greased bundt, smoothing off, before adding the reserved cherry halves to the top of the batter.
Bake & Cool The Cake:
- Tap the bundt on the counter/worktop a few times before placing in the centre of the pre-heated oven to bake for 50-60 minutes. Cover with foil after 25 minutes & continue baking till a cocktail stick, (or wooden bbq skewer), inserted as far down as possible, comes out clean of crumbs.
- Leave to cool on top of a cooling rack for 30 minutes, before placing a plate on top, turning everything over & releasing the cake. Leave to cool before decorating.
Decorating:
- Eat plain, with a dusting of icing/powdered sugar, or decorate as follows: sieve the 62 grams Icing Sugar before adding the ¼ tsp Almond Extract and some of the water/milk. Mix till a paste is formed before very gradually adding more liquid till a thick but pourable consistency. (See video).
- Carefully add very small amount of the glaze to the groves & pockets of the bundt cake, starting from the top, (using a ¼ tsp, or a small piping bag), before adding coconut on top. Place the 10 reserved cherry halves (ones with no flour coating), on the top layer, held in place with glaze.
- Use a very small brush to brush away any excess coconut. Leave to set about 15 minutes.
Serving & Storing:
- Slice into 12 servings and enjoy with tea or coffee. Store in an airtight container such as a tin, for up to 1 week, 5 days under a cake dome.
- Freeze slices or the whole cake, (less the cherries), well wrapped in paper, before adding cling film/plastic wrap, & finally in a labelled food bag or container, for up to 3 months.
Video
Notes
Ground Almonds – substitute with Almond Flour or fine/extra fine Almond Meal. Make your own by bashing whole almonds, skins on, before processing. See my ground almond photo for reference photo.
Glacé Cherries – US equivalent is candied cherries or cocktail cherries, but be sure to wash off the syrup.
Recipe Yield -at least 16 slices from the cake.
Try my Original Madeira Loaf Cake recipe, or with cranberries and orange
Please see the main recipe blog for more information.
All cake recipes can be found on my Cake Page.
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Nutritional Information: I am not a qualified nutritionist, and all values are approximate. 1 serving is one slice, from a yield of 16 slices, assuming all ingredients & glaze & cherry topping is used as per the ingredient list above. Cut larger or smaller slices & these values will change. All nutritional information from website MyFitnessPal.com.
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Happy Learning & Baking!
Caro x
Cranberry Orange Madeira Bundt Cake
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