Madeira Cake by Rebecca Firkser - Recipe Print View

Heat the oven to 325ºF and grease a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray or butter. Line the bottom of the cake pan with a round of parchment paper, then grease the paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl with an electric hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the lemon zest, butter, and sugar at medium speed, until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl periodically. Add the eggs one at a time at medium to medium-high speed, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each addition. (Should the mixture start to look curdled, do not fear! This is OK, and will be resolved once the dry ingredients are added.) Continue beating until the batter gets incredibly fluffy, about 5 minutes. Whisk together the oil and lemon juice in a small bowl or liquid measuring cup. With the mixer on low, beat one-third of the dry ingredients into the batter, then half the liquid. Scrape down the bowl, then beat in another third of the dry ingredients and the remaining liquid. Scrape down the bowl again, then gently beat in the remaining dry ingredients. The batter should look like really thick buttercream frosting. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top gently with an offset spatula. Shower the cake very generously with more granulated sugar. Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, about 45 to 50 minutes, until the cake is pulling away from the sides of the pan, springs back slightly when pressed, and/or when a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. The cake should be cracked and sparkly from the sugar topping. Shower the top of the cake with flaky salt, if using. Let the cake cool completely before turning it out of the pan. Serve with Madeira wine or tea.