Easy Cherry Madeira Cake Loaf Recipe with Almond

5 from 1 vote

Easy Cherry Madeira Cake Loaf Recipe with Almond

This deliciously moist cherry Madeira cake recipe is perfect for an afternoon tea treat with a cup of tea. With a denser crumb than a sponge cherry fruit cake, each bite is fruit with glace cherries and ground almonds. What's not to love?

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: british, portugese

Keyword: cake, cherry, madeira cake

Servings: slices

Calories: 321kcal

Author: Vikkie Lee

Equipment

Ingredients

175 g Unsalted butter (¾ cup) softened at room temperature
175 g Caster sugar (¾ cup)
3 large Eggs at room temperature
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract Or almond extract for a vanilla Madeira cake
1 Lemon zest only
225 g Self raising flour (1 + ⅓ cup +1.5 tbsp)
40 g Ground almonds (¼ cup)
¾ teaspoon Baking powder
200 g Glacé cherries (1 cup) Once measured/weighed, rinse, pat dry and halve them

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

First, preheat the oven at 160c fan / 180c conventional / Gas mark 4 / 350F. Then butter and line a 900g/2lb loaf tin with baking paper.
To prevent the cherries from sinking to the bottom of the cake, rinse with warm water to remove any sticky syrup.
Then slice them in half and pat dry with kitchen roll before mixing with a tablespoon of the flour and set aside.
Now cream the sugar and butter together in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
You can do this by hand or use an electric mixer.
Beat the eggs in a jug. Then slowly stir in a little at a time until all of the eggs have gone.
Now stir in the extract and lemon zest.
Add the rest of the flour, almond flour, and baking powder and stir until you see no traces of remaining flour left.
Next, gently fold in the cherries with 2 strokes and no more as they'll move while transferring to the tin.
Note the cherry cake batter will be stiff, so you might find a metal spoon better for the job.
Spoon the cake mix into the prepared tin and gently level with the back of a spoon.
Top with chopped nuts, almond flakes, etc if you wish, and bake in the centre of the oven for 45-60 minutes.
Then transfer to a wire rack after cooling in the tin for 10 minutes.

Video

Notes

To prevent the cherries rom sinking in the cake, ensure you wash any syrup off and pat dry before rolling in some of the self raising flour and set aside
If by 45 minutes, the top of the cake is golden brown but the top seems too tender to test with a skewer, cover it with foil and place it back in the oven for another 10 minutes
Do not open the oven until the 45 minutes is up in case the cake sinks
To test to see if the cake is done, insert a cake tester or skewer in the middle to see if any cake smears appear. If so, continue to bake for 10 minute increments
When making a cherry cake, resist the temptation to make a classic Madeira cake by loosening the mix with 1-2 tablespoon of milk, otherwise, the cherries will sink no matter how small you chop them
If you would like to finish with a drizzle of icing sugar, do this on the following day when it is cool to help it set quickly

Nutrition