Lemon Madeira Celebration Cake

Wedding Cake, Christening Cake, Birthday Cake, Retirement Cake.  This cake would be too sweet were it not for the lemon. This is very easy to make too. The basic madeira mix is from the Odlums website (where you'll find smaller equivalents), but I've meddled with it a little to make what is essentially an over sized french fancy. This cake will fit a 9"/23cm square tin or a 10" round tin though I baked in a disposable foil roasting tin for ease of slicing while still maintaining a respectable depth of cake. Ingredients marked with an * indicate that they are in both the cake and the icing




Cake
To add a lemony tang mix warm lemon juice and a little icing sugar and pour over the just cooked cake
575g Self Raising Flour
500g Caster Sugar
500g Butter*
9 Eggs
4 Tbsp Milk
Rind of two lemons*

1. Preheat the oven to 150c and grease the tin(s)
2. If you have a mixer - pop everything into the bowl, turn on the mixer at a low setting until all the ingredients are combined then mix on high for 1 minute. If you don't have a mixer - Cream butter and sugar, sift flour, mix eggs and milk together. Add a little of the egg mix then a little of the sifted flour to the creamed butter and sugar and repeat that until you've used all the ingredients. Stir in the lemon rind
3. Bake in the oven for 2-2¼ hours or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool completely on a wire rack.

Icing
Icing in contrast to cake making is such an intuitive thing if the icing doesn't taste right don't be afraid to tweak it according to how bitter the lemons are or your own personal taste.

1.5 pkts of Fondant Icing (lifes to short to make it)
500g Icing Sugar
454g Butter*
Lemon Juice of two lemons*
Finely grated rind of a lemon

1. Whip together icing sugar lemon and butter.
2. Saw the cake in half down the width of it with a bread knife using careful long strokes
3. Spread the icing on both insides of the cakes and sandwich together. Then spread over the top and sides.
4. Knead fondant icing sugar until it's pliable. Roll out a thin layer and smooth over the cake like you would a christmas cake.
5. Cover and chill in the fridge