Orange Madeira Loaf Cake
Madeira cake is a traditional British cake it differs from a classic sponge with a denser crumb because it contains more flour and is normally flavored with almonds and lemon. This recipe uses orange for a fresh and fruity take.

History of Madeira Cake
Madeira cake has been a British staple since the mid-1800s, it was named after Madeira wine from the Portuguese island of the same name, and was often served alongside the cake. My favourite way to serve this cake is with a strong cup of English tea.

The base of this sponge is butter, light and fluffy eggs, a decent amount of flour and almond flour, and fresh orange juice. This cake has a moist and slightly dense texture, with a sweet, delicate vanilla flavour and just a hint of orange.
Baking Method
We are using a loaf tin and working with a moist batter so how we bake this cake is a very important step. We bake the cake for about an hour and about halfway through baking, we place foil on top of the cake to stop browning and keep the cake cooking, until it is perfectly soft and has a moreish crumb.

This recipe is so simple, delicious, is a cinch to make and has such a homey feel, I simply adore it. Another variant that I love is replacing the orange with lemon, giving this cake a fresh and zingy taste. Hope you enjoy it!


Orange Maderia Cake
Equipment
- Loaf tin
Ingredients
- 175g Butter
- 200 g caster sugar (1 cup)
- 3 eggs
- 120 g plain flour (1 cup)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 55 g ground almonds (1/2 a cup)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla paste
- The zest and juice of 1/2 of a medium orange
- 1/8 tsp salt
Instructions
- Preheat an oven to 180 degrees celcius / gas mark 4 / 350 F and grease and line a loaf tin
- In a mixing bowl cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Then add in the eggs one at a time and combine well, if the mixture starts to curdle add in a tbsp of flour a mix well
- Sift in the flour, salt and baking powder and stir to combine
- Now, add in the almonds, vanilla and orange juice and zest, then stir together
- Pour the batter into the loaf tin and pop it into the oven
- Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until a toothpick comes out cleanHalfway through baking when the cake is golden brown cover it in some tin foil and continues to bake until well cooked – this will make sure that the cake doesn't over brown