Cherry Madeira Cake
Ingredients
- 175 gr. (6 oz.) butter
- 175 gr. (6 oz.) caster sugar
- ¼ tsp. vanilla essence
- Grated rind of a lemon *
- 3 eggs
- 100 gr. (4 oz.) plain flour
- 100 gr. (4 oz.) self-raising flour
- 150 gr. (5 oz.) glacé cherries, halved
- 1-2 tbsp. approx. milk
- * I use a parer to peel off strips of the lemon peel, then chop finely
- Heat oven to 160ºC
- Grease, flour and line the base of a 900 gr. (2 lb.) loaf tin
Method
First, wash and dry the cherries, cut in half and coat thoroughly with a tablespoon of the measured flour, leave to one side.
Cream the butter, sugar and vanilla extract together until light and fluffy. Sprinkle in the grated lemon rind and beat a little more.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.
Sieve the two flours together and gently stir into the mixture. Fold in the flour-coated cherries.
If necessary, add a little milk to make a soft dropping consistency.
Spoon into the tin, level and bake. After 30 minutes, cover with a piece of aluminium foil and bake for a further 40 minutes until nicely browned and a cake tester comes out clean.
Variation:
Seed Cake
(One of Aunty Ria’s favourites! and one I remember when I stayed with her during school holidays)
Omit the lemon rind and glacé cherries
Add:
1 tsp.caraway seeds
½ tsp. cinnamon
A large pinch of cloves
Bake in an 18 cm. (7") round tin, grease, flour and line the base
