My Mother-In-Law's Madeira Cake

I don't know if I ever ate Madeira cake as a child, but just the sight of this golden-yellow loaf with its long crack down the middle makes me feel satisfactorily nostalgic. This recipe, given to me by my mother-in-law Carrie, is the best of any version I've tried. It's just one of those plain cakes you think you can't see the point of, until you start slicing and eating it.

Please read the Additional Information section at the end of the recipe before proceeding.

240 grams unsalted butter (softened)

200 grams caster sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)

grated zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

3 large eggs

210 grams self-raising flour

90 grams plain flour

17 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)

1 cup superfine sugar (plus extra for sprinkling)

3 large eggs

1⅓ cups self-rising flour

⅔ cup all-purpose flour

Method

You will need a loaf tin (23 x 13 x 7cm / 9 x 5 x 3 inches), buttered and lined.

Preheat the oven to 170ºC/150ºC Fan/gas mark 3/325ºF.

Cream the butter and sugar, and add the lemon zest.

Add the eggs one at a time with a tablespoon of the flour for each.

Then gently mix in the rest of the flour and, finally, the lemon juice.

Sprinkle with caster sugar (about 2 tablespoons should do it) as it goes into the oven, and bake for 1 hour or until a cake-tester comes out clean.

Remove to a wire rack, and let cool in the tin before turning out.

Sprinkle with superfine sugar (about 2 tablespoons should do it) as it goes into the oven, and bake for 1 hour or until a cake-tester comes out clean.

Additional Information

I love a good old-fashioned seed cake; if you do too, add a couple of teaspoons of caraway to this mixture. For a lemon poppyseed cake, add the juice of another half lemon and a tablespoon or two of poppyseeds. And if you come by any dried strawberries, you can up the liquid to the juice of 2 lemons and fold in 100g of dried strawberries.

MAKE AHEAD / STORE: Cake will keep for up to a week in an airtight container in a cool place. Cake can be frozen. Wrap tightly in a double layer of food wrap and a double layer of foil and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, unwrap the cake and put on a wire rack at room temperature for 3-4 days then store as above.