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WW Recipe of the Day: Old-Fashioned Madeira Cake
I’ve decided to get back to baking more. In pursuit of a healthier lifestyle and weight maintenance, I cut too far back on one of my great passions – baking from scratch with real butter, sugar and eggs. I have missed that feeling of losing myself in the process. The intoxicating, sweet-smelling aromas. The satisfaction I get watching others enjoy my creations. Not to mention the sensuous pleasure of savoring something really, really luscious.
So, rather than always obsessing over how to make things lighter and more WeightWatchers friendly, I’m out to prove to myself that it’s possible to remain happy, healthy and slim and bake from scratch with real ingredients from time to time!
Recipe Notes
I am kicking things off with the first recipe from Nigella Lawson’s, How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking (affiliate link). Called, “My Mother-in-Law’s Madeira Cake,” it is the kind of cake I love most, a simple unadorned yellow loaf cake.
In her headnotes, Nigella says that it “is the best version I’ve tried.” Since I have no experience with Madeira cake—though it seems very much like what we would call pound cake here in the US, I decided to trust Nigella implicitly, which means I actually followed the recipe for a change.
Despite its name, this cake does not incorporate Madeira wine and does not originate from the island of Madeira, which boasts its own distinct cake known as Bolo de Mel. The term “Madeira cake” was adopted in the UK during the early 1800s, a time when it became fashionable among the upper classes to enjoy a slice of this cake paired with a glass of Madeira wine. Recipes for this cake began to be documented around 1840, with a version appearing in Eliza Acton’s 1845 publication, “Modern Cookery For Private Families.”
I did make one minor necessary adjustment, substituting plain cake flour (with a little baking powder and salt) for the self-rising kind, a tricky-to-find ingredient this side of the pond. I also embellished the instructions for those who might not be familiar with some of the finer points of mixing up cake batter from scratch.
The results? Delicious!
I pulled from the oven a beautiful golden loaf cake that was firm, but tender, with a rich lemony, buttery flavor and crackly sugar encrusted top.
It’s great plain as a teatime treat, or topped with your favorite fruit and ice cream or whipped cream. It would be excellent lightly toasted and spread with marmalade or turned into trifle too.
How Many Calories and WW Points in Nigella’s Old Fashioned Madeira Cake?
Of course, there’s a price to be paid for something this luscious. Each slice (1/12th of the cake) has 272 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
12 SmartPoints (Green plan)
12 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
12 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
8 PointsPlus (Old plan)
If this seems a little “too expensive,” try the strategy my Nana always used to have her cake and eat it too: have a sliver or half a piece and cut the calories in half without sacrificing flavor!
How to Make Old-Fashioned Madeira Cake, Step by Step
Step 1: Gather and prep your ingredients:
- 1-1/3 cups cake flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Step 2: In a medium bowl whisk together the dry ingredients.
Step 3: In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer (affiliate link) for several minutes until it gets light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat in the lemon zest.
Step 4: Add the eggs one at a time, along with 1 tablespoon of flour for each. Be sure to make sure the egg is fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next.
Step 5: Gently stir in the remaining flour and then the lemon juice being careful not to over-mix at this point.
Step 6: Scrape the batter into your prepared loaf pan (affiliate link) and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes.
Additions and Variations
To turn this into an old-fashioned seed cake add a couple of teaspoons of caraway to the cake batter. For a lemon poppyseed cake, add the juice of another half lemon and a tablespoon or two of poppyseeds.
If you’ve made this Old-Fashioned Madeira Loaf Cake, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Nigella’s Mother-In-Law’s Madeira Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1-1/3 cups cake flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for sprinkling on top
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
Instructions
- Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F degrees.
- Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan (affiliate link) and then line it with parchment or wax paper.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar with an electric mixer (affiliate link), several minutes, until it gets light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula (affiliate link). Beat in the lemon zest.
- Add the eggs, one at a time along with a tablespoon of flour mixture for each, allowing each egg to be fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next.
- Gently mix in the remaining flour, just until blended. And then stir in the lemon juice. (Don’t over mix as it will toughen the cake.)
- Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the pan and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Gently remove the cake from the pan and cut into 12 slices.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 12 SmartPoints (Green plan) 12 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 12 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 8 PointsPlus (Old plan) Additions and Variations
To turn this into an old-fashioned seed cake add a couple of teaspoons of caraway to the cake batter. For a lemon poppyseed cake, add the juice of another half lemon and a tablespoon or two of poppyseeds.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Source: Adapted slightly from How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking (affiliate link) by Nigella Lawson
More Cake Recipes Made Lighter
- Strawberry Cake (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Lemon Raspberry Pound Cake (Weight Watchers)
- Red, White and Blue Fruit Skewers with Light Lemon Cheesecake Dip
- Lemon Supreme Pound Cake (Simple-Nourished-Living)
- Lemon Yogurt Anything Cake (Smitten Kitchen)
- Lemon Coconut Tea Cake (Simple-Nourished-Living)
Where is your the madeira??
There’s no madeira in madeira cake! It get’s it’s name because in years past it was often served with madeira 🙂