Madeira Loaf

Thereafter, grease a loaf tin with either spraying oil or butter.

Make sure that the butter or margarine is at room temperature. It’s best to use butter for a richer taste.

To a mixing bowl, add the butter or margarine.& the castor sugar.

Cream the butter/margarine & the castor sugar together by either using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon.

Next, crack in one egg at a time – this prevents the eggs from curdling & making the batter clumpy.

Mix until combined.

Thereafter, crack in the second egg.

Mix until combined.

Crack in the third egg.

Mix well. Notice how fluffy & smooth the batter is.

Next, grate in the lemon zest.

Pour in the vanilla essence.

Next, squeeze in the juice of half the lemon, discarding of any seeds.

Pour in the milk.

Mix well until everything is combined because once the dry ingredients go in, you don’t want to over mix the batter.

Thereafter, add in the all purpose flour.

Next, add in the bicarbonate of soda, baking powder & salt.

Fold together until everything is well incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin.

Smooth the top with the back of a spoon & bake for 35-40 minutes at 180° Celsius.

About 10 minutes before the loaf is ready, begin preparing the syrup. To a saucepan, add the castor sugar.

Add the water to the castor sugar.

On medium heat, stir until the sugar dissolves.

Once the sugar has dissolved, allow the mixture to simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Thereafter, remove the saucepan from the heat.

Add in the vanilla essence & lemon juice. Stir & set aside. You will notice that the mixture is slightly thickened, it will be perfect at that consistency as we don’t want it too thick.

I poured the syrup into a bowl so that it is easier to work with.

When the cake is ready, stick a skewer or a knife in the center, when you take it out the knife or skewer should come out clean. If there is batter on the skewer or knife then bake the cake for a further 5-10 minutes depending.

Using a pastry brush, brush the hot syrup over the Madeira Loaf.

Allow it to cool for a few minutes in the pan & then carefully remove the cake from the tin.

Slice the Madeira Loaf & serve.

This cake can be served as is or with a thick spread of butter.

Store this Madeira Loaf in an airtight container for up to a week.