Cherry Madeira Cake

Cherry madeira cake is simple to make and the most difficult bit is waiting for it to cook in the oven!

This cake is made with store cupboard ingredients, so it makes the perfect teatime treat or just a naughty, sneaky slice at any time.

And, if you are worried about the cherries sinking in the cake, don't be. I've got a whole list of simple hacks to make sure that this cherry cake is perfectly studded with cherries.

Enjoy!

What is it called a madeira cake?

Why is cake so confusing? A coffee cake can be flavoured with coffee, or just a cake to be eaten with coffee, and a tea cake is just eaten with a cup of tea. Then there is a fruit loaf, also known as a tea loaf, where often the dried fruit is soaked in tea before it is cooked.

Well, there is no Madeira wine in Madeira cake! This simple cake has been a British favourite since the 1800s, when it became fashionable to serve this wine with a serving of cake.

If you haven't tried it before, Madeira wine is fortified and tastes like a rich cream sherry or even a tawny port. It's sweet, mellow and delicious!

While it is often just a plain cake, I've added cherries for a moist cake that doesn't feel as heavy as a fruit cake.

Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee!

Jump to:

• What is it called a madeira cake?
• 🥘 Ingredients
• 🍽 Equipment
• 🔪 Instructions
• ⏲️ Baking time
• 🥗 Serve with
• SUBSTITUTIONS
• 📖 Variations
• STORAGE
• 📋 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

🥘 Ingredients

All you will need for this cake are simple ingredients that you will likely already have in the kitchen.

• Butter - room temperature to make it easier to mix.
• Sugar - golden caster or caster sugar. In the US this is superfine sugar.
• Eggs - I prefer to use large free range eggs for baking.
• Vanilla extract - please use extract as vanilla essence is not the same!
• Flour - self raising flour. Make your own self raising flour below.
• Ground almonds - for extra flavour and to help keep the cake moist.
• Glacé cherries - also known as candied cherries in the US.
• Baking powder - for extra help with raising the batter.

See recipe card for quantities.

💭 How to make self raising flour

If you want to make your own self raising flour then you can use plain or all purpose flour and add 2 teaspoons of baking powder for each 150g/6oz/1 cup plain flour. For this recipe you would need 4 teaspoons but make sure that the total weight for the flour and almonds includes this.

🍽 Equipment

• Stand or hand electric mixer - optional
• Large bowl
• Wooden spoon
• Colander or sieve
• 900g or 2lb loaf tin - 24 X 12 cm or 9.5 X 4.5 inches
• Pastry brush - or baking parchment to grease the tin
• Baking parchment or loaf tin paper liner

🔪 Instructions

Start by lining the loaf tin with baking parchment.

It's easier to do this by putting the tin on the paper and making sure that there is enough to cover the bottom and long sides.

Next, make two cuts each end where the corners are. Fold the flaps inwards and fold along the lengths. Now check that the paper fits.

Use a pastry brush to grease the tin with butter and then push the paper into place.

Wash and cut the cherries in half as described below.

💭 Top tips to stop the cherries sinking in a cake

• Cut the cherries into halves or even quarters to reduce their weight in the cake batter.
• Wash the cherries in a sieve to get rid of the sticky coating.
• Dry the cherries on kitchen paper and dust with a tablespoon of the flour from the recipe.
• Push the cherries into the cake batter just before baking.

In a food mixer or large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until very soft and fluffy.

Beat the eggs individually and add them one by one to the cake batter, mixing well after each addition.

Use a tablespoon of the flour to mix with the cherries and add the rest of the flour, baking powder and the ground almonds to the batter.

Fold in the flour mixture with a metal spoon.

Put half of the batter in the bottom of the tin and spread into a layer.

Push half of the cherries in and repeat.

⏲️ Baking time

Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/160 FAN/Gas Mark 4.

Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Don't open the oven door for the first 45 minutes or the cake may not rise well.

Leave it to cook for 5 minutes in the tin and then transfer to a cooling rack.

Wait until the cherry Madeira cake is completely cool before slicing.

🥗 Serve with

This cake is perfect with afternoon tea for a special occasion.

Try it with:

• Cheese and Bacon Scones
• Classic Scones
• Afternoon Tea Sandwiches
• Lincolnshire Plum Bread
• Salted Caramel Mille Feuille

SUBSTITUTIONS

• Ground almonds - if you don't want to use ground almonds replace with the same quantity of self raising flour.
• Butter - use baking fat if you prefer but the flavour will not be as good.

📖 Variations

• Citrus - add the grated zest of an orange, lime or lemon to the batter
• Fruit - use blueberries instead of the cherries, although they will burst it will still taste delicious.
• Hot - if you need a quick dessert serve slices with hot custard.

STORAGE

This cherry pound cake will keep up to a week in a tin or other airtight container.

To freeze it, cut in slices and wrap individually. Freeze for up to 3 months.

FAQs

📋 Recipe

FOOD SAFETY

• Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat.
• Wash hands after touching raw meat.
• Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods.
• Never leave cooking food unattended'
• Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds.
• Always have good ventilation when using gas.

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