Madeira Sponge

Madeira Sponge is Delicious cake, sometimes flavoured with a hint of lemon, but can be plain. It has a more dense texture than a Victoria sponge, making it the perfect recipe for carved or tiered cakes.

To add a little lemon flavour to my madeira sponge, I add a little Lemon Drizzle Flavour Shot to taste. Don’t limit yourself to lemon though! This sponge is delicious in so many of our Natural Flavours! Take a look at our range of Flavour Shots!

This recipe is for an 8″ sponge baked in two round tins. The bake time for for this is roughly 40-50 minutes. Bear in mind that the larger the cake, the longer the bake time will be. With some of the larger sizes it can be a good idea to use a baking belt to prevent the edges from burning before the cake is fully baked. Using a flower nail as a heating core in the centre of the cake can also be handy.

Ingredients

• 350g butter
• 350g caster sugar
• 20g flavour shot of choice
• 6 eggs
• 350g SR flour
• 175g plain flour

Method

1. Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, cream together the butter, sugar and flavour shot until light and fluffy.
2. Add the eggs one at a time, incorporating each fully before adding the next. You may wish to add a tablespoon of flour with each egg to prevent the mixture from curdling, but this is not necessary.
3. Now you can fold in the flour. I Find it best to do this in three increments and fold until just combined. Do not over mix or you risk a very dense sponge.
4. Divide the mixture between two tins, levelling out the batter then creating a dip in the middle to prevent a domed cake.
5. Bake at 140c fan for approximately 40-50 minutes, using a skewer to test.
6. Once baked, allow the sponges to cool inside the tins for 10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack.