Madeira cake

Every time I tell people that my husband doesn’t like sweets I usually get a “I can’t believe it!!!” in return: for the amount of baking I do it must be really hard to believe he doesn’t eat all the cakes, cookies and brownies – well, he doesn’t, so the rest of the family enjoys them with me, no problem. :)

Even though I love sharing my baked goods, there are times I like having something around just for myself, like a slice of cake, for instance, to go with coffee or tea, but as much as I love sweets I can’t polish something off in a short period of time, that is why I was thrilled to make this Madeira cake – the recipe says that the cake improves if eaten the next day, so I imagined that it would improve even more a few days later and I was right: the citrus flavors get more intense and the smell is intoxicating (every time I opened the container for a slice of cake it smelled better than before).

This Madeira cakes has a different texture from the one I baked a long time ago – it is more compact, not so tender, but I found it perfect with a cup of coffee; this cake is tastier, too, and the little nuggets of crystallized orange peel add a nice twist to it.

Madeira cake
slightly adapted from the delicious and beautiful National Trust Simply Baking

170g all purpose flour
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
170g granulated sugar
finely grated zest of 1 orange
finely grated zest of 1 lime
170g unsalted butter, softened
4 medium eggs, lightly beaten with a fork*
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 teaspoons Cointreau (optional)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
55g crystallized orange peel, chopped – toss it with a bit of the flour so it doesn’t sink to the bottom of the cake

Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20x10cm (8x4in) loaf pan, line it with baking paper and butter it as well.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine sugar, orange and lime zest and rub together with your fingertips until fragrant. Add the butter and cream until pale and fluffy – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the eggs, a little at a time, waiting until the egg is fully incorporated before adding some more – scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally. Beat in the lemon juice, Cointreau and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, stir in the dry ingredients and the orange peel.
Spoon the mixture into the pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan over a wire rack for 30 minutes, then carefully unmold and cool completely on the rack. Peel off the paper and wrap the cake in cling film, then in foil. Leave it at room temperature overnight.

* my eggs were way too big, so I used 3 instead of 4 and each weighed 75g

Serves 8-10