
Cherry and Mixed Seed Madeira Cake
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8
Our madeira cake recipe is delicately flavoured with cherries and seeds but you can use lemon zest, almonds or simply leave it plain for a lovely light sponge.
Ingredients
- 180g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 180g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- 250g self-raising flour
- 3tbsp milk
- 75g mixed seeds – pumpkin, sesame, poppy
- small handful of fresh pitted cherries, each sliced into 3 pieces
- small amount of sugar infused with lapsang souchong tea (optional – see tip)
- 20 ml raspberry jam
- 150g double cream, whipped
- 150g icing sugar, sifted
- small amount of lemon juice
- handful of flaked almonds, toasted (optional)
- fresh flowers to decorate
Two 18cm round cake tins, greased and lined
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C fan assisted/gas mark 6.
- Cream the butter and the sugar together for 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until just incorporated. Fold in the flour then add the milk slowly – you need just enough to ensure that the mixture falls slowly from the spoon. Fold in the seeds and cherries.
- Divide the mixture between two prepared cake tins and level out to the edges. Sprinkle the top with the lapsang-infused sugar, if using. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cocktail stick inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- Spread the base layer with the jam and pipe the whipped cream on top. Sandwich the two halves of the cake together.
- Mix the icing sugar with enough lemon juice to give it a pouring consistency – and pour over the top of the cake. Decorate with toasted almonds and garnish with fresh flowers, if using.
TIP: To infuse granulated sugar with lapsang souchong, simply leave an unused teabag in 400 – 500g caster sugar overnight. You can use a small amount for this recipe, then store the rest in an airtight container to use another time.