Easy Madeira Cake
Madeira Cake is a classic British bake & also synonymous with New Year in Scotland. No Scottish New Year (or Hogmanay party), is complete without the addition of our Scottish shortbread and a slice of Madeira cake. A very simple bake, and not too sweet, this cake is liked by all.
Easy Madeira Cake
Based On A very Traditional Scottish Recipe
(By A flame-haired Scot 😊)
**Original post 19/11/21, updated photos 16/11/24
**Click to jump to section
Why Is It Called Madeira Cake?
Well, Madeira cake is believed to have originally been served with Madeira wine back in the 1700s, rather than it containing Madeira wine. Nor did it originate from Madeira, in Portugal.
Why Make This Madeira Cake?
There are many reasons why you would want to make this easy Madeira cake:
1.Simple To Make
This is a super simple cake, beginner bakers could make it. Even kids could help with it. It pairs beautifully with Nutella chocolate spread!
2.No Special Equipment Required
No fancy baking equipment required, only the basics and if you don’t have a 2lb loaf tin, you can even make in a 8”/20cm round cake tin.
3. No Decorating Skills Needed
No decorating required, just eat as is, which is traditional. Or spread on your favourite jam or even lemon curd would be nice.
4. Ideal For Food Gifting
Great for food gifting, this Madeira cake transports well as the whole cake. Alternatively, wrap individual slices in baking/parchment paper, or for a festive feel, wrap in tissue paper and tie with ribbon and add a pretty label. Be sure to include on the label, instructions to store in an air-tight container.
Check out my Last Minute Food Gifting article.
Ingredients & Alternatives
Madeira cake is classicaly made from:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Flour
- Ground Almonds
- Baking Powder
- Lemon Juice
Ground Almonds
Madeira cake has the addition of ground almonds. This is not to be confused with Almond Flour in the States. Almond flour is a little finer. (See my photo below as a comparison of ground almonds to regular flour). The more coarse texture of the ground almonds, provides not only moisture from the nut oils, but also structure. And this is why it is included in lots of British cakes.
Makes for a firmer and more close texture of cake, it is great for cakes with heavy fondant and in particular layer cakes. A closer substitute is Fine Almond Meal or not too fine an almond flour if you have it already..
Make Your Own Ground Almonds
If you can’t source ground almonds or Almond Meal, you can grind your own almonds, skin and all. There are YouTube videos on how to do this, but essentially you crush the almonds a little in a food baggie, and then process.
Caster Sugar
This Madeira cake recipe, like most British recipes, uses Caster Sugar as opposed to granulated sugar. The equivalent in the US is Extra/Super Fine Sugar. The finer texture of the sugar helps with the ‘creaming’ process between the sugar and butter to incorporate air into the batter.
You can make your own Caster sugar by simply grinding granulated sugar just a little, using a food processor. Note too that US granulated is slightly smaller a granule size than our granulated sugar. So don’t grind too much or you will make Icing/Powdered sugar. See Photo above of the 3 main sugars we use in the UK.
Flour
This recipe uses Plain (All Purpose) Flour & baking powder, but I have recipe tested using UK Self-raising Flour, (not to be confused with US Self-rising). Amounts for different types of flour are in the recipe card below. (**Note, all my recipes give alternative flour guidance).
Size Of Eggs
I use 4 eggs in this Madera cake, medium or large sized eggs. However, in the US the equivalent is Large – Extra Large so bear that in mind, as the eggs provide key protein as structure for the bake.
Make sure too that the eggs are at room temperature. So if storing in the fridge, take out at the same time as your butter, which will also need softening and bringing to room temperature.
Cranberry Orange Variation
Not only is a wonderful cranberry orange version possible, but you can also choose to bake your Madeira cake in a round cake tin. This recipe’s batter, also makes enough for a standard 8″/20cm round cake tin.
Equipment
In the photos you will see I used a Wiltshire rose gold 2lb loaf tin and also their 8″ round cake tin, about 2″/5cm deep.
No need to change the amount of ingredients. But if you want to make using a larger round cake tin – see my how to increase a recipe article. Or, the how to reduce a cake recipe, for a smaller than 8″ round tin.
Recipe Yield
Recipe makes 1x 2lb loaf cake or 1x 8″/20cm round cake, both with a yield of about 10-12 slices.
Where I Buy My Ingredients
All of the ingredients used for this cake were purchased in Aldi. I am not being sponsored by Aldi, but highly recommend not only their baking ingredients, but their equipment too. Items used in today’s bake included – Butter, Caster Sugar, Ground Almonds, Eggs, Lemons, Plain Flour, Baking Powder, Apricot Preserve (as seen in Photo above), and Frylight 1 Cal Butter Spray for greasing the loaf tin.
The Plum Jam is home-made. Try my Plum & Orange Jam recipe or Fig Anise Curd.
**Note, ingredient amounts (in grams, ounces & cups), & equipment list, given in the Recipe card below.
Experienced bakers can skip to the Recipe Card – an abbreviated version that you can also print. Click below:
Jump to RecipeStep-By-Step Instructions
1. Make sure your butter is softened and the best and quickest way to do this is by cutting into smaller pieces, about ½” (1.3cm). Not only does it incorporate into the bake easier, but a smaller surface area will soften and come to room temperature quicker. If you forget to take out in time, or are just short on time, try this hack I tried, for Softening Butter In About 12 Minutes.
2. Once soft enough, add the butter to your mixing bowl, add in the sugar and beat till soft and fluffy and paler in colour. This is known as ‘creaming’ and helps trap air pockets in the mixture. This may take a few minutes depending on the power of your mixer. See Photo 1.
3. Heat your oven to 180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4.
4. Next, add in one egg at a time, mixing just till combined, before adding in 1 tbsp worth of your flour. Mix together & repeat until all eggs are incorporated. See Photo 1 above.
5.Add the ground almonds & lemon juice & sieve over the flour (and baking powder if using). Mix a little by hand at first, or place a clean tea-towel over the mixer and mix until fully incorporated. Don’t over-mix, only mix until no flour is visible. The batter will be thick. See Photo 3 of the cranberry orange version.
**For the cranberry orange cake, wash cranberries in warm water, pat dry & coat in 1 tbsp flour. Fold into the cake batter in 3 increments, add the orange extract & zest, & hold back 12-18 cranberries for the top.
6. Prepare the 2lb loaf tin/breat pan (see above for dimmensions), by greasing and lining with baking/parchment paper cut to fit. See my Lining cake pans article on how to cut the paper with more photos, or refer to Photo 3 . Simply cut the paper in a cross shape to fit the tin & hold in place with the spray.
From Photo 3 you can see I used a spray – Frylight 1Cal Butter spray.
Alternatively, you can use an 8″/20cm round cake tin, and be sure to line up the sides too with some strips of paper.
Often I also use home-made lining paste (cake goop) – similar to cake release spray but a paste. This works greta on bundts & I used for the round cranberry orange variation (see video).
7. Spoon the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin and level out as best you can with the back of a spoon. Give the cake tin a few taps on the counter/worktop to expel any trapped air. See Photo 4.
8. Pop in the pre-heated oven to bake for 50 – 60 minutes. After 30 minutes, cover with foil & continue baking another 20 – 30 minutes till fully baked. The Madeira should be golden, & a cocktail stick will come out clean of crumbs. There should also be a ‘crack’ down the centre, typical to madeira cakes. (See Photo 4).
9. Place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Then turn out the cake onto the cooling rack to cool completely.
10. Slice with a long sharp knife and enjoy as is or if you like something a little sweeter, spoon your favourite jam/preserve on top. Click to go to my Home-made Plum Jam recipe. Or why not try my Lemon Curd or blueberry orange curd recipe?
11. Store left-overs Madeira cake in an airtight container – I use metal cake or cookie tins and the cake will be fine, at room temperature for at least 3 days.
12. Madeira cake can also be frozen. Wrap well in cling film/plastic wrap, then place in a labelled food bag or air tight container & will be fine for up to 3 months1.
13. Defrost the Madeira cake in the fridge overnight for best results.
DIFFICULTY LEVEL: easy, beginner
More Madeira Cake recipes
I have several madeira cake based recipes on the website. Just click the photo below to jump to the recipe.
Recipe Card
EASY MADEIRA LOAF CAKE
Equipment
- Digital scales or measuring cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Stand/Hand-mixer
- Sieve
- 2lb Loaf Tin (900g, 23 x 13 x 7cm/9 x 5 x 2 ¾ “ or 8"/20cm Round tin
- Baking/parchment paper
- Cake release spray, cooking spray, etc for greasing
- Timer
- Wooden Cocktail stick
- Cooling rack
Ingredients
- 175 grams Butter – unsalted, cubed and softened. (6 oz, ¾ cup)
- 175 grams Caster Sugar (Extra/Super Fine Sugar, 6oz, ¾ cup)* See above
- 4 Med-Large Eggs (US – Large – XLarge)
- 225 grams Self-raising Flour (8 oz, 1 ¾ cups OR Plain/All Purpose Flour + 2 ¾ tsp Baking Powder) * See above
- 50 grams Ground Almonds (1 ¾ oz, ½ cup) * see above
- 2 tsp Lemon Juice (or ¼ tsp extract)
**for Cranberry orange version – see notes below
Instructions
Prepare Cake Tin
- Begin by preparing the loaf tin. Grease & line with baking/parchment paper cut to fit. Alternatively, use an 8″/20cm round cake tin, and line up the sides too with some strips of paper.
Prepare Cake Batter
- Heat your oven to 180°c/160°c Fan Oven/350°f/Gas Mark 4. Once butter is soft enough, add to your mixing bowl, add in the sugar & 'cream' together.
- Next add in one egg at a time, mix just till combined, before adding in tbsp worth of flour. Mix together & repeat this until all 4 eggs are incorporated.
- Add in the ground almonds & lemon juice & sieve over the flour (and baking powder if using). Mix only until no flour is visible. The batter will be thick.
- Spoon the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin, level out & give the cake tin a few taps on the counter/worktop.
Bake The Cake
- Bake for 30 minutes, then cover with foil & bake for another 20 – 25 minutes until golden and a cocktail stick comes out clean of crumbs. If the cake has coloured enough but is not ready, place the foil back on top and continue baking.
- Remove from the oven & place on the cooling rack to cool down for about 20 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Slice with a sharp bread knife & enjoy as is or if you like something a little sweeter, spoon your favourite jam/preserve on top.
- Store left-overs Madeira cake in an airtight container – I use cake tins and the cake will be fine for about 3 days.
- Madeira cake can be frozen for up to 3 months1. Wrap well in cling film/plastic wrap, then in a labelled food bag or air tight container. For best results, defrost the Madeira cake in the fridge overnight.
Notes
* Please see ingredient notes on the main recipe blog for alternatives.
Great for food gifting – transports well as the whole cake. Alternatively, wrap individual slices in tissue paper & tie with ribbon & add a pretty label. Be sure to include on the label, instructions to store in an air-tight container.
For a Cranberry Orange version, add 100g (3½ oz, 1 cup), fresh cranberries, (washed in warm water, pat dried & covered in 2 or 3 tbsp flour), 2½ tsp orange extract & zest of one orange or tangerine, & fold into the prepared batter, in 3 increments, holding back about a dozen cranberries to add to the top. Bake slightly longer.
Or, try the same cake batter and bake in a round 8″/20cm cake tin. (See above & before Recipe card for more photos).
See more Madeira cakes like Cranberry orange bundt below, or cranberry orange muffins.
Try with my Home-made Plum Jam recipe. Or why not try my Lemon Curd or Fig Anise Curd recipe?
Try Mince Pie Bundt cake – a deep golden Madeira cake, layered with mincemeat.
Please see the main recipe blog for more information.
To rate the recipe or leave feedback, please scroll all the way to the bottom of the main recipe post. Thanks.
Reference: freezing Madeira cake information from Freezeit.Co.UK-freezing-madeira-cake
Nutrition: I am not a qualified nutritionist, and all nutritional values are approximate. Values based on 1 serving of 1 slice, from a yield of 10 slices per loaf cake, making the plain version, using all ingredients. Make smaller or bigger slices, and these values will change. All values calculated on website MyFitnessPal.com.
Try some other classic British baking – just click on the photo below to jump to the recipe.
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Some photos of my Madeira cakes over the years.
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Caro x
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- Freezing Madeira cake information from Freezeit.Co.UK/freezing-Madeira-cake/ ↩︎
Great traditional version of a Madeira we would have at the Bells for New Year but loved the orange cranberry version.
So pleased you like the recipe Mary Anne. I have a new fancy Madeira recipe coming soon.
Good old Scottish baking
Yes, as it should be! Thanks so much for your feedback and rating. I appreciate it.