Spelt Madeira Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting
This dense, buttery moist spelt Madeira cake is flavoured with lemon juice and ground almonds. It has a simple cream cheese frosting and can be made with all-purpose or spelt flour.
This spelt Madeira cake is so simple to make, and its buttery richness makes it the perfect partner for a cup of afternoon tea (or coffee). The cake has a dense crumb but at the same time, is soft and very moreish. One slice just won’t be enough.
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| What is Madeira cake? |
| Does Madeira cake from Madeira? |
| Spelt sponge cake recipes |
What is Madeira cake?
The Brits have a fondness for cake that has spanned centuries. Two hundred years ago, the cakes enjoyed during afternoon tea had fairly dense sponge and were made with equal quantities of eggs, sugar and butter. Madeira cake has very similar ingredients to a classic Victoria sandwich cake, but uses less baking powder, giving it a firmer, slightly denser, texture. Unlike a Victoria sponge, Madeira cake has a touch of lemon juice added to the sponge. Most modern recipes also include ground almonds, which gives the cake a glorious edge.
Madeira cake is often baked in a loaf tin (although not always) and is usually without frosting. I can honestly say it doesn’t need any. However, I fancied some. And we should always give ourselves a little of what we fancy. Right? To go with the nuts in the cake, I finished off the decoration with some chopped almonds.
Does Madeira cake from Madeira?
Many years ago, I lived and worked on the beautiful island of Madeira. If you like stunning scenery, a rocky coastline, superb hotels and beautiful flowers, you need to go. And of course, there’s Madeira cake. Let’s not forget that. Well, actually, yes, we should, because Madeira cake doesn’t come from the isle of Madeira. Madeira’s most famous cake is not even sponge. It is honey cake, a rich combination of fruit, spices and Madeira wine, which is fortified (similar to Port) and made from grapes grown on the island.
Madeira cake actually originates from England and we’ve been eating it since the beginning of the 19th century. The first recipe for the cake appeared back in 1845. As we’ve already established, the cake doesn’t come from Madeira. But it does get its name from Madeira wine. Back in the day, afternoon cake was accompanied not by coffee, but a snifter of alcohol.
Spelt sponge cake recipes
I love making cakes with spelt flour. You can take any recipe and just do a straight swap with spelt flour. Here are some of my favorite spelt sponge cakes:
- Eton Mess sponge cake
- Whole lemon cottage cheese cake
- Coffee and walnut cake
- Blueberry and white chocolate mud cake
- Airfryer lemon cake
- Strawberry swirl pound cake
Simple Spelt Madeira Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
- 175g (¾ cup) butter (room temperature)
- 175g (⅞ cup) sugar
- 3 eggs (medium)
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 50g (½ cup) ground almonds
- 180g (1½ cups) spelt flour (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
Frosting (see note 2):
- 200g (7 oz) cream cheese
- Around 300g (2 cups) Icing sugar (just enough to make a thick frosting)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake:
- Pre-heat the oven to 175°C (350F). Grease or line a loaf tin (mine is 9x5" / 23 x 13cm)
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Add the lemon juice.
- Fold in the flour and ground almonds until everything is just combined.
- Bake for around 30-40 minutes (in the lower part of the oven). You may need to cover the top of the cake with baking paper if it browns too quickly.
- The cake is ready when an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave the cake on a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting:
- Beat the cream cheese, vanilla sugar and icing sugar together.
- Keep adding icing sugar until the frosting is thick and spreadable.
- I sprinkled mine with chopped almonds, but that's optional. Enjoy!
Notes
- You can use spelt or regular flour for this recipe (just use the same amount).
- The frosting is entirely optional (as are the chopped almonds). The cake tastes amazing with or without it.