Conventional madeira cake contains a huge quantity of butter and eggs. This vegan madeira cake is blissfully free from animal products while still having the rich texture and flavour you’d expect to find in a maderia cake.
Essentially, it is a cake that manages to be both plain and rich at the same time: plain, because it is an (almost) unadorned sponge cake; rich, because of the depth of flavour and texture.
Ground almonds add moisture and some density without producing a heavy cake. The mixture will double in size in the oven, so it’s actually quite light.
The flavour is a subtle mix of lemon and vanilla, with a little salt. I use soft margarine (dairy free Flora, to be precise) rather than one of the oils in this recipe because it results in a more authentic madeira cake flavour.
One of the defining features of a madeira cake is its soft golden crust. The pictured cakes were sprinkled with a bit of mixed chopped peel, to add interest and enhance the mild citrus flavour of the sponge.
It is perfectly nice with a cup of tea. I haven’t yet tried it with a glass of madeira wine, which is where this cake’s story began.
The cake pictured above was baked in a rectangular 11 x 4″ (29 x 10cm) tin so a traditional 2 lb loaf tin will produce a slightly taller cake. The cake pictured below was made with half the quantity of ingredients and baked in a 6″ round tin (with a reduced baking time).
vegan madeira cake…
ingredients
- 120 g soft vegan margarine
- 40 g maple syrup
- 160 g caster sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- up to 1/8 tsp salt
- 260 g plain white/unbleached flour
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 100 g ground almonds
- zest of half a small lemon
- 160 ml oat (or other non-dairy) milk
- chopped or sliced peel to decorate (optional)
method
- Set the oven to 190°C/375°F. Lightly oil and line the base of a suitable tin (a standard loaf tin, for example).
- Place the margarine and maple syrup in a large bowl and soften just a little in the microwave so that they will mix together easily.
- Add the sugar and vanilla to the margarine mixture and beat until smooth.
- Add the ground almonds and lemon zest to the mixture and then sift in the flour, baking powder and salt.
- Begin to stir this mixture, adding the milk in two or three stages to form a soft cake batter.
- Transfer to the tin, level the top a bit if necessary, and sprinkle over the peel (if using).
- Bake for around 40-45 minutes, depending on your oven and the size of the tin, until it is well risen with a deep golden, cracked crust, and an inserted skewer comes out clean. If you think the crust is browning too much too soon, reduce the oven temperature to 180/360°.
- Allow to cool before removing from the tin. It will store for a few days if well wrapped, but is probably best eaten in the first two days.
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