What Is a Madeira Cake? Madeira vs Victoria Sponge and Pound Cake
What is a Madeira cake? A Madeira cake is a traditional English butter sponge with a firm yet light, close crumb, usually flavoured with lemon and often topped with candied peel. Despite the name, it isn't from Madeira and has no Madeira wine in it: it was named after the fortified wine it was served with in 19th-century England.
At a glance
- Lemonthe traditional flavouring
- 1845Eliza Acton's early published recipe
- Creamingbutter and sugar beaten first, then eggs and flour
- 55.0gcarbs per 100g in CoFID's iced sponge entry (11-832)
On this page
- What is a Madeira cake?
- Why is it called Madeira cake?
- What goes into a Madeira cake?
- Madeira cake vs Victoria sponge
- Is Madeira cake the same as pound cake?
- Why decorators like Madeira cake
- How to serve Madeira cake
- How long does Madeira cake keep?
- Carbs in Madeira cake
- If you're cutting carbs
- FAQs
- Sources
It's a teatime classic and a favourite base for iced celebration cakes, but the name can be puzzling. So, what is a Madeira cake? This guide explains what makes it different from other sponges, why it's named after a wine, how it compares with a Victoria sponge and a pound cake, why cake decorators like it, and how long it keeps. If you're baking one, our guide to whether almond flour is the same as ground almonds may help, as some recipes swap part of the flour for ground almonds.
What is a Madeira cake?
Madeira cake is a sponge or butter cake from traditional English cookery. Wikipedia describes its texture as firm yet light, says it's eaten with tea or occasionally for breakfast, and notes that it's traditionally flavoured with lemon. BBC Food calls it "a rich sponge cake" that is usually flavoured with lemon zest and topped with candied peel.
BBC Good Food's guide to classic cakes describes it as "typically a super-fine but firm sponge loaf" and the ultimate companion for a cup of tea. You'll find it baked both ways: James Martin's recipe for BBC Food uses a deep 18cm round tin, while Good Food's Madeira cake by Barney Desmazery is baked in a 900g loaf tin.
What really defines it is the crumb. A Madeira sponge is denser and closer-textured than a light, airy sponge, which is why it slices neatly, keeps well and holds up under icing. Lemon is the classic flavour, so a lemon Madeira cake is really the original rather than a variation.
Why is it called Madeira cake?
Because of a drink, not a place. Wikipedia explains that the cake is sometimes mistakenly thought to come from the Madeira Islands, but it was in fact named after Madeira wine, which was popular in England in the mid-1800s and often served with the cake. BBC Food agrees: contrary to its name, the cake doesn't include Madeira and didn't originate on the islands. It was simply a popular cake to serve alongside glasses of the fortified wine.
Madeira itself is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese island of Madeira in the North Atlantic, according to Wikipedia, and styles range from dry wines to sweet ones usually drunk with dessert. The islanders have their own traditional cake, too. Wikipedia says the Madeiran bolo de mel is dark, spicy and honey-flavoured, and very different from the English cake that borrowed their name.
The pairing hasn't gone away. The Hairy Bikers' easy Madeira cake recipe for BBC Food calls it "perfect with a glass of madeira or sherry".
What goes into a Madeira cake?
A Madeira cake uses the same four basics as most British sponges: butter, sugar, eggs and flour, plus lemon zest. BBC Food explains that it's made by the creaming method. The butter and sugar are beaten together until pale and fluffy, the eggs go in one at a time, then the flour is folded in. Here's how three well-known UK recipes compare.
| James Martin | Good Food | Hairy Bikers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Butter | 175g | 175g | 250g |
| Sugar | 175g caster | 175g golden caster | 200g caster |
| Eggs | 3 | 3 large | 3 |
| Flour | 250g SR | 200g SR + 50g ground almonds | 300g plain + baking powder |
| Citrus | 1 lemon | 1 lemon | 2 clementines |
SR = self-raising flour. From James Martin's Madeira cake (BBC Food), Barney Desmazery's Madeira cake (BBC Good Food) and the Hairy Bikers' easy Madeira cake (BBC Food). Checked 3 November 2026.
Notice the flour. In all three recipes there's more flour than butter or sugar, which helps give a Madeira cake its firmer body. Good Food's guide adds that replacing some of the flour with ground almonds helps give a fine, light finish, and Desmazery's loaf does exactly that. James Martin adds just enough milk to give a mixture that "falls slowly from the spoon".
The original recipe
Madeira cake has been around for a long time. Wikipedia names Eliza Acton's Modern Cookery for Private Families (1845) as one of the earliest published recipes. Her "Good Madeira Cake" whisks four eggs, then adds six ounces each of sugar and flour, four ounces of melted butter, the rind of a fresh lemon and a little carbonate of soda, before baking for an hour in a moderate oven.
The crack and the candied peel
Two features mark out a traditional Madeira cake. The first is a crack along the top. The Hairy Bikers' recipe notes that the cake may crack lengthways down the middle and that this is normal for a Madeira cake. The second is candied peel: BBC Food says the cake is often topped with it, and James Martin's recipe finishes the cooled cake with candied peel, if you're using it.
Madeira cake vs Victoria sponge
The two are close cousins, as both are made by creaming butter and sugar, but they're built for different jobs. In his recipe tips for BBC Food, James Martin says Madeira cake isn't as light as a Victoria sponge, but that also means it keeps well and is robust enough to use in a Christmas trifle.
| Madeira | Victoria sponge | |
|---|---|---|
| Texture | Firm, fine, close | Lighter and softer |
| Shape | One deep cake or loaf | Two layers, sandwiched |
| Flavour | Lemon | Plain sponge, jam filling |
| Topping | Candied peel, or none | Dusting of sugar |
Based on BBC Food, BBC Good Food's guide to classic cakes and Wikipedia's Sponge cake entry. Checked 3 November 2026.
The Victoria sponge, Wikipedia says, was named after Queen Victoria and is a sandwich of two sponges filled with jam, and often cream in modern versions, with nothing on top but a dusting of sugar. BBC Good Food describes it as a layered, light-coloured sponge, usually baked in two tins. Lindy Smith, the cake decorator, explains that a soft cake such as a Victoria sponge is trickier to carve and doesn't hold its shape as well when iced. Our own keto Victoria sponge recipe shows the sandwich style.
Is Madeira cake the same as pound cake?
They're very similar, but the names come from different traditions. Wikipedia says Madeira cake is similar to a pound cake or yellow cake. Pound cake was traditionally made with a pound of butter, and although the recipe was first recorded in England, Wikipedia notes that the British rarely use the term, calling such cakes a traditional sponge cake or creamed sponge instead.
So if you're asking what is pound cake, the short answer is a rich butter cake usually baked in a loaf or Bundt tin, and a Madeira cake is the nearest everyday British equivalent. Wikipedia also lists cherry cake as a traditional British cake of glacé cherries suspended in a Madeira sponge.
Why decorators like Madeira cake
Madeira is a favourite base for celebration cakes covered in sugarpaste. Lindy Smith recommends it to beginner decorators because it's firm enough to carve and cover, while a soft sponge can sink under the weight of the icing. She says a Madeira cake will last up to two weeks, and she usually allows a week to decorate it and a week to eat it.
BBC Good Food's guide calls Madeira "a great foundation" because it's so versatile: you can add cherries or another fruit, or cocoa, or use it as a trifle sponge. Its lemon drizzle cake, the guide adds, is one of the best ways to finish a Madeira or a simple sponge.
Lindy Smith finds it much easier to carve a partially frozen cake than a fresh one, as it's less likely to crumble.
How to serve Madeira cake
A Madeira cake needs very little dressing up. Here are the traditional ways to enjoy it:
- With a cup of tea. It's the classic teatime cake, says BBC Good Food.
- With a glass of Madeira or sherry. Just as the Victorians served it, and as the Hairy Bikers suggest.
- In a trifle. James Martin and Good Food both point out that its firm sponge works well in trifle.
- As a lemon drizzle. Good Food suggests finishing the sponge with a lemon and sugar syrup.
- With fruit in it. Glacé cherries turn it into a cherry cake.
How long does Madeira cake keep?
Longer than most sponges. BBC Food says Madeira cakes improve in flavour and texture after one or two days, so they can be made in advance and wrapped tightly in foil until needed, and that the cake freezes well. James Martin suggests wrapping it in a double layer of cling film and a double layer of foil to freeze it for up to 3 months, then defrosting it unwrapped on a wire rack at room temperature.
Recipes vary on how long it stays at its best. Good Food's loaf keeps in an airtight container for three days, while Lindy Smith says her Madeira cakes last up to two weeks. For a shop-bought Madeira cake, follow the date and storage advice on the pack.
Carbs in Madeira cake
A traditional Madeira cake is mostly flour, sugar and butter, so most of its carbohydrate comes from the flour and sugar. CoFID, the UK's official food composition tables, doesn't have a separate entry for Madeira cake, but its retail soft iced sponge entry was analysed from samples including Madeira. The table shows it alongside the per-slice figures from two BBC recipes.
| Carbs | Sugars | kcal | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iced sponge, per 100g | 55.0g | 39.0g | 368 |
| James Martin, per serving | 45.1g | 22.6g | 394 |
| Good Food, per serving | 39.5g | 22.6g | 397 |
CoFID 2021: Cake, sponge, soft iced, retail (11-832; 10 samples, including angel cake, Madeira and lemon drizzle). Recipe figures as published by BBC Food (James Martin's Madeira cake) and BBC Good Food (Barney Desmazery's Madeira cake, cuts into 8 slices). UK carbohydrate figures don't include fibre. Checked 3 November 2026.
The CoFID entry covers iced cakes, so it isn't an exact match for a plain Madeira, but it gives a sense of scale. For comparison, CoFID lists plain white flour (11-886) at 80.9g carbohydrate per 100g.
If you're cutting carbs
A true Madeira cake depends on wheat flour and sugar for its structure and sweetness, so you can't take them out and still have the traditional cake. If it's the lemony, teatime sponge you're after, a few of our products are worth knowing about. They're not Madeira cakes, as they're made with almond and coconut flour rather than wheat flour.
Our Keto Lemon Cake Mix is made with almond flour, organic coconut flour, whey protein and lemon powder, sweetened with erythritol and stevia. You whisk 3 eggs with 80g melted butter, stir in the mix and bake it in an 8-inch round tin at 180°C (160°C fan) for 30 to 35 minutes, or as 12 cupcakes. For a plain sponge, there's our Keto Vanilla Cake Mix.
If you only want one slice, our Keto Lemon Mug Cake Mix is made with almond flour, coconut flour, oat fibre and lemon powder. You add an egg and a tablespoon of melted butter, then microwave it for a minute. For a lemony topping, our keto lemon curd recipe uses four ingredients.
Product details are as shown on each product page. Free delivery on orders over £30.
All three mixes contain almonds, and the Lemon Cake Mix and Vanilla Cake Mix contain milk (whey). You make them with eggs and butter (milk). They all contain erythritol, a polyol, and excessive consumption of polyols may produce laxative effects. Always check the pack for full allergen information.
Key takeaways
- It's an English butter sponge. Firm, fine and close-textured, usually with lemon.
- The name comes from the wine. It was served with Madeira; it doesn't contain it.
- It's firmer than a Victoria sponge. That's why it keeps well and suits trifle and icing.
- It's a cousin of pound cake. Wikipedia calls the two similar.
Frequently asked questions
Is Madeira cake actually from Madeira?
No. Wikipedia says it's sometimes mistakenly thought to come from the Madeira Islands, but it's a traditional English cake named after Madeira wine, which was popular in England in the mid-1800s and often served with it. The islanders' own traditional cake, bolo de mel, is dark, spicy and honey-flavoured, and very different.
Does Madeira cake contain Madeira wine?
No. BBC Food says that, contrary to its name, Madeira cake doesn't include Madeira. It was simply a popular cake to serve alongside glasses of the fortified wine in 19th-century England. A classic Madeira cake is made with butter, sugar, eggs, flour and lemon zest, though you can still enjoy a slice with a glass of Madeira.
Is Madeira cake the same as pound cake?
They're very similar but not quite the same. Wikipedia says Madeira cake is similar to a pound cake, which was traditionally made with a pound of butter. Pound cake was first recorded in England, but Wikipedia notes that British bakers rarely use the name, calling it a traditional sponge cake or creamed sponge instead.
Why is Madeira cake used for decorated cakes?
Because it's firm. Cake decorator Lindy Smith recommends Madeira for beginners because it carves cleanly and holds its shape under sugarpaste, while a soft sponge, such as a Victoria sponge, can sink under the weight of the icing. She also says a Madeira cake lasts up to two weeks, which leaves plenty of time to decorate it.
Can you freeze Madeira cake?
Yes. BBC Food says Madeira cake freezes well. James Martin suggests wrapping it tightly in a double layer of cling film and a double layer of foil and freezing it for up to 3 months. To defrost it, unwrap the cake and leave it on a wire rack at room temperature. For shop-bought cake, follow the pack's advice.
Sources
- BBC Food. Madeira cake recipes (definition, name, creaming method, candied peel, storage and freezing). Checked 3 November 2026.
- BBC Food. Madeira cake by James Martin (ingredients, method, nutrition per serving, comparison with Victoria sponge, trifle, freezing). Checked 3 November 2026.
- BBC Food. Easy Madeira cake by the Hairy Bikers (ingredients, the crack on top, serving with Madeira or sherry). Checked 3 November 2026.
- BBC Good Food. Madeira cake by Barney Desmazery (ingredients, loaf tin, nutrition per slice, keeping). Checked 3 November 2026.
- BBC Good Food. Our guide to classic cakes (Madeira, Victoria sponge and lemon drizzle). Checked 3 November 2026.
- Wikipedia. Madeira cake (origin of the name, texture, Eliza Acton's 1845 recipe, bolo de mel), Madeira wine, Pound cake (including cherry cake) and Sponge cake (Victoria sponge). Checked 3 November 2026.
- Lindy Smith. Why does Lindy suggest beginners use Madeira cakes? and Carving cakes successfully (decorating, keeping, carving). Checked 3 November 2026.
- Public Health England / Office for Health Improvement and Disparities. Composition of foods integrated dataset (CoFID) 2021 (codes 11-832 and 11-886). Checked 3 November 2026.
- Groovy Keto product pages: Keto Lemon Cake Mix, Keto Lemon Mug Cake Mix and Keto Vanilla Cake Mix (ingredients, method and allergens). Checked 3 November 2026.
