Simple Spelt Madeira Cake with a Cream Cheese Frosting
This dense, soft Madeira cake is perfect for afternoon tea!
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
I have converted grams to cups/ounces/tablespoons using online converters. Although I have no reason to believe they are inaccurate, please be aware that I have not made this recipe with imperial measurements
- 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.
