Cherry madeira cake
- Prepare
- less than 30 mins
- Cook
- 30 mins to 1 hour
- Serve
- Serves 6–8
- Dietary
- Pregnancy-friendlyVegetarian
Growing up my mum always baked with us, and we’d often make cupcakes with red and green glacé cherries. Or, whenever we were sad, she’d make us a warm madeira cake. This is a love letter to my childhood and how my mum shows she cares – and now I do this for my girls.
Ingredients
- 175g/6oz unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra to grease
- 175g/6oz caster sugar
- 200g/7oz glacé cherries, halved
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 150g/5½oz plain flour, plus 1 tbsp
- 50g/1¾oz ground almonds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin with some butter and line with baking paper. Wash the glacé cherries in a sieve to remove the syrup, then leave them to dry on kitchen paper.
Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a free-standing mixer and beat for 3 minutes on a medium speed until super pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground almonds and baking powder, then use a large metal spoon to fold this into the butter mixture. Add the milk and lightly mix. Toss the cherries with the extra tablespoon of plain flour and fold two-thirds into the cake batter.
Scrape the batter into the prepared tin using a spatula, then sprinkle the remaining flour-dusted cherries over the batter. Transfer the tin to the oven and bake for 55 minutes, or until risen, golden and when a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
