Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Hi, there are so many different recipes for Madeira cake. Some have only extra sr flour, others just a small amount Of extra plain and others have a greater amount Of plain. Does anyone know If there is a difference in the keeping qualities between these recipes? Thank you

A madeira cake is a sponge cake which contains a higher proportion of flour with regard to the other ingredients.

The total amount of flour can be all self raising or it can be a combination of up to a third plain flour. This depends on how firm the end product is to be. The additional flour produces a dense, close textured cake with good keeping properities, suitable for carving and for working on over a longer period of time. A shelf life of approximately two weeks would be reasonable. Some people find this type of recipe produces a drier cake although it becomes more moist as the days go on.

Some recipes contain smaller amounts of the additional flour. This will still produce a firm cake but it will be softer and more moist . The shelf life may be less or the same as a recipe which contains the higher proportion of additional flour. However it will keep longer than a sponger such as a victoria cake and it will still be good for carving and stacking.

Mrs Jones’ madeira cake recipe in the tutorials contains 40 gm additional plain flour to her main which is self raising. She has commented that her cake will keep for two weeks wrapped and stored in a cake tin.

So, it is a flexible recipe according to your requirements. I hope this explanation helps. If you need more information please post again. 🙂

Very clear. Thank you

Thank you, nice and clear.

Nookums and Kay4, you are both very welcome! 🙂