Nigella Lawson’s Mother-In-Law’s Old-Fashioned Madeira Cake

WW Recipe of the Day: Old-Fashioned Madeira Cake

I’ve decided to get back to baking more. In pursuit of health and weight maintenance, I cut too far back on one of my great passions – baking from scratch with real butter, sugar and eggs. I’ve missed the 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!

The Skinny on Old-Fashioned Madeira Cake

I’m kicking things off with the first recipe from Nigella Lawson’s, How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking. Called, “My Mother-in-Law’s Madeira Cake,” it’s 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 & WeightWatchers 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 and:

12 *SmartPoints (Green plan)
12 *SmartPoints (Blue plan)
12 *SmartPoints (Purple plan)
8 *PointsPlus (Old plan)

To see your WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, Click here!

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:

1-⅓ cups cake flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1-½ teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter softened
¾ 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 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 and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 50 to 60 minutes. 

Additions & 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.

Are You Ready To Firmly Plant Yourself
On The Path To Lasting Weight Loss Success?

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.

Source: Adapted slightly from How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking by Nigella Lawson

*Points® calculated by WW. *PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT each plan’s ZeroPoint Foods (Green plan, Blue plan, Purple plan) using the WW Recipe Builder.

More Cake Recipes Made Lighter

Skinny Strawberry Cake (Simple-Nourished-Living)
Lemon Raspberry Pound Cake (Weight Watchers)
Red, White & 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)

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