The Era of the Madeira

Before we moved to our new house, my favourite cake to cake was a good, old fashioned Madeira. As Nigella Lawson puts it, it’s not the sort of cake you see the point of, till you start eating it. It’s a classic and delicious, buttery and lemony, it’s good for all seasons, but not one I have tackled since inheriting the beast. I guess I was avoiding baking a Madeira as they are my favourites (along with all my other favourites- more Nigella sound bites) and I didn’t want to subject such a scrumptious cake to the ravages of the unwieldy beast and have it come out a disappointment, a sad reminder of its former glories. But early this week I was feeling brave, or reckless, or I guess I just figured it was only a cake! So, whilst Darling boy was having his nap I mixed the batter and poured it into the cake tin and stashed it in the aga, with the shelf above it to try to stop it catching on the unpredictable heat. In the end it actually needed an extra 15mins to cook- and managed to catch at the edges as well (something that only agas can do to your cakes- burn and under-cook them at the same time)

I made the Madeira to eat this weekend when we have marvellous mum and dad down to see us and their friends, the French contingent are in the neighbourhood and will be popping over. The Madeira will join some other cakes and treats to have for afternoon tea. I think we will be needing lots of tea and cake, as although it’s the ‘height of summer’ it’s also the great British summer and it hasn’t stopped raining all day! Definitely the weather for tea and cake.

My dear Maderia

The baking experiment went surprisingly well. Faced with the decision to either buy a sponge from the shops to use in the Birthday Trifle, or be brave and hit the aga, my disbelief in buying shop bought cakes overruled my nervousness of the beast.

The sponge came out better than expected, though it was, shall we say slightly darker than normal and also rather lopsided. It did however taste pretty good and would be just the job sliced up and drenched in sherry for the Birthday Trifle (I know, Darling boy is just one year old and therefore not really a suitable candidate for sherry, but he can have the top layers)

Motivated by my sponge success, and with the Darling boy in nursery for the day, I decided to make the most of the opportunity and bake some cookies and biscuits to have in store for the big weekend. First up was honey and ginger biscuits that I have baked a few times. There were thinner and more spread out that usual, which I put down to the hot-hot-heat of the roasting oven. The first batch were sadly, mostly only fit for the worms, as they were cinders. The next batch however were morely closer watched and came out squidgy, gingery and deliciously honey flavoured. We plan to get some bees next spring and I can’t wait to make these with our own honey.

Next up was a batch of cinnamon cookies, which came out very well, fragrant, sweet and suitably doughy. They came out of the aga just in time for the in-laws arrival and Darling boys return from nursery with Handsome husband. We enjoyed a selection of both with a cuppa and a gossip in the run up to bath time.

From baking the sponge and biscuits, I found that any cakes in the aga need to have the tray placed above them to help reduce the heat and stave off burning. I also learnt that the top left side of the roasting oven is much hotter than the bottom right side- all very handy lessons for the big party!

Aga saga

We have a gorgeous kitchen in our new home. It has a tiled floor, with cream back-splash tiles with tiny painted flowers here and there (think Cath Kidstone meets Laura Ashley) The units are handmade in cream wood with a bottle green worktop. It has a large battered old wooden table with plenty of room for guests to loll around and admire the view over a glass of vino, across the terrace and garden to the hills beyond. It also has a larder cupboard and two utility rooms (oh the storage!) that are each bigger than my last kitchen in our old house...Basically I am a very lucky girl.

When is comes to cooking, we have a lovely cream aga in the kitchen, its an old beast, but I'm looking forward to learning to love my aga. The only problem it needs a new wick, and we haven't got any oil...But once these two little problems are resolved, I shall be cooking.

Oh, and we also don't have a fridge or freezer, (or dishwasher or washing machine) right now, so life is very simple, very turn of the century.