I was baking the other day and thought I'd divert half the batter from an 8oz/4 egg Victoria Sponge basic mix to make a Madeira cake, but as I had no cherries to make a fave cherry madeira I decided to make do with what was available in the store cupboard.I had walnuts from Lidl and some sultanas, and of course coffee. So I made some yummy jam and apple bakewells with pastry I had in the fridge, and filled half with stewed apple and half with some fresh strawberry and blueberry compote - kinda like jam but not as set or as sweet.
Then I took the remaining batter and added another 2oz/50g self-raising flour and 4 tablespoons milk, and 2oz/50g each of chopped walnuts and sultanas, along with 4 tablespoons strong coffee (I made some in this nice cafetiére (which I got free with
Bewley's coffee a few weeks ago along with a nice coffee book - as opposed to a coffee table book!).I put the lot into a parchment liner in a 2lb loaf tin and dotted the top with walnuts - and into the oven for 45 minutes or so. End result - a nice nutty cake that's not too sweet, perfect with coffee or tea for elevenses.
I brought it into work for the tea-break and it went down a treat - I have recently moved office into the hospital in Dungarvan, so I have company now, with my other public health nurse colleagues and the office staff.
I hope you enjoy this - I'll summarise the recipe here. Bung everything in and mix well, and it's a doddle to make, so enjoy it.
Coffee Walnut and Sultana Madeira Cake
Ingredients
- 6oz/175g Self-raising flour
- 4oz/115g Butter - soft
- 4oz/115g Vanilla sugar (or sugar with added vanilla essence)
- 2 eggs
- 4 Tablespoons milk
- 4 Tablespoons strong coffee (instant or filter/cafetiere/percolator)
- 2oz/50g chopped walnuts
- 2oz/50g Sultanas
- Whole walnuts to decorate
Method
- Put everything in a bowl and mix well - until stiff dropping consistency.
- Put in lined loaf tin (greaseproof liner or paper).
- Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees Centigrade for 45 minutes until a skewer/knitting needle comes out dry when stuck into the cake.
Enjoy and tell your friends to give it a go!
Oh - I have to tell you that the strawberry bonanza is finally over and we have a number of delicious pots of jam to last the next few months - maybe into the autumn and some of the winter.
It looks like this year we'll have a bumper crop of apples which is terrific after last year's disastrous non-harvest - we're having a lovely summer and are afraid to jinx it by taking it too much for granted. Hope it lasts through July and August, and beyond.
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6 comments:
This looks so tasty! I'll wager your kitchen smells like heaven.
Hi Rudee - yes, when there's baking going on it does smell good - and I love coffee brewing smell though I rarely drink the stuff! Busy finishing my knitting project - subject of future post!
Catherine x
I like to read your baking recipes, although I never fix them myself. I would ne unable to eat them with my gastric band and would have to give them away to a stranger, because nobody I know eats cake or pastry in those amounts. Isn't that awful? No adults like to really indulge. They're all watching their diets. I hope your family enjoys your gifts from the oven, because surely that's what they are.
"a doddle" That sounds my sort of cake cooking ability. I may try it, although at the moment we are trying to lose the extra kilos that we put on during our short holiday.
Thanks for your comments. We are pleased with our new Prime Minister but not impressed with the way she got there. We find it hard to understand why Rudd was kicked out. Something to do with the union power brokers not being happy with him. However, Julia Gillard has a better chance in the next elections as she is more popular than Rudd.
I hope to do a few more posts on the interesting little towns that we visited on our trip. Glad to hear you are having a good summer, our winter has been very mild so far.
i have that exact same Bewley's coffee maker--won it in a Facebook contest. but i don't have a lovely madeira cake. sob.
Thanks for the comments friends - all appreciated.
NORA-Irene - sorry you couldn't enjoy the cake with your gastric band - maybe you could have some with very small bits of walnuts in it? I don't know how big the portions you can have are, but I am sure you are allowed to take small portions. The cake is nice anyway. I iced one with coffee butter icing and sprinkled chopped walnuts (toasted in the oven for a few mins) over it - even nicer)
DIANE - laughed at your doddle comment! I know about the kilos - I have lost about 3-4kg lately after the winter and since I started cycling. It feels much better.
I see what you mean about the palace coup in Australia - she is getting a lot of cover here with various policy comments. She certainly stands up to her detractors - it was a disgrace someone saying it was strange she had no children as if they would say that to a man! (Even if it is a choice she made, it's her business).so far the good weather is continuing thankfully. We are blessed after the last few years!
LAURIE - what a coincidence that you have the Bewley's coffee maker! I got it with the coffee in a special offer pack! go on and give the coffee madeira a go sometime, it is so easy it's ridiculous - I made two one night at 11pm so I could bring one to work the next day and gave the other one to a friend. It went down well in the tea room at coffee break and my colleagues all think I'm a domestic goddess! (as if!!) so I won't disillusion them - unless they read this blog - highly unlikely as most don't know I blog in my other life!
All the best, Catherine xxx
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