← Nouns Cooking · Bakery

Ingredients

• 175 g Butter, soft
• 175 g golden caster sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 lemon, zest only, plus 1 tbsp juice
• ½ tsp Vanilla extract
• 200 g Self-raising flour
• 50 g Ground almonds
• 1 tbsp Milk (optional)
• 1 tbsp caster sugar, to sprinkle

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (140°C fan, 325°F). Grease a 900 g (2 lb) loaf tin and line it with baking paper.
2. Beat the butter and sugar for 3–4 min until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a spoonful of the flour with each to stop it curdling.
3. Beat in the lemon zest and juice and the vanilla, then fold in the rest of the flour and the ground almonds. Add the milk if the batter is too stiff to drop easily from a spoon.
4. Spoon into the tin, level the top and sprinkle with the caster sugar.
5. Bake for 55–60 min, until golden, risen with a crack along the top and a skewer comes out clean.
6. Cool in the tin for 10 min, then lift out onto a rack to cool completely.

Tips

• The name comes from the Madeira wine it was once served with, not an ingredient.
• Contains almonds; use 50 g more flour instead for a nut-free cake.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

BBC Good Food BBC Food