Madeira Cake
175g butter, at room temperature
175g caster sugar
3 large eggs
250g self-raising flour
3 tbsp (approx) full-cream milk
1 lemon, zest only
1-2 thin pieces of candied citron or lemon peel, to decorate
# Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Grease an 18cm/7in round cake tin, line the base with greaseproof paper and grease the paper.
# Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well between each one and adding a tablespoon of the flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture curdling.
# Sift the flour and gently fold in, with enough milk to give a mixture that falls slowly from the spoon. Fold in the lemon zest. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and lightly level the top. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30 minutes.
# Place the candied peel on top of the cake and bake for a further 30 minutes or until a warm skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn it out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.