⚡ Quick Answer
This Cherry Madeira Cake costs £3.51 total to make using standard UK supermarket ingredients — that's roughly 50p per slice for 7 generous slices. Bake time is 45 minutes at 170°C in a 2lb loaf tin. No fancy equipment needed beyond an electric hand whisk.
There's a specific kind of afternoon that calls for a Madeira cake. It's not a special occasion. No birthday, no guests expected. Just a Tuesday, a cup of tea going slightly cold on the counter, and the feeling that something needed to be baked. That's when this one gets made.
Cherry Madeira is one of those cakes that looks like you've made an effort without actually requiring much of one. Dense but tender crumb, cherries distributed through every slice, the faint smell of vanilla still hanging around the kitchen an hour after it comes out of the oven. Total cost from start to finish: £3.51. Seven slices at 50p each. You could spend that on a single biscuit from a café.
This recipe is based on a video from the Baking on a Budget YouTube channel — same ingredients, same method, costed against current Tesco and Aldi shelf prices for April 2026. What follows is the full recipe with every step, the exact cost breakdown, and the things that actually go wrong (and how to fix them).
Why This Works
Madeira cake is a creaming method cake — butter and sugar beaten together first, then eggs, then flour. That order matters. Creaming traps air in the fat, which gives the cake its lift and that close, slightly dense crumb that makes Madeira different from a sponge.
The flour dusted on the cherries is the one trick that makes a real difference. Without it, the weight of the cherries pulls them straight to the bottom during baking. The flour coating creates just enough grip on the surrounding batter to keep them suspended throughout the loaf. Simple. Works every time.
What makes this recipe genuinely budget-friendly is the ingredient list. There's nothing exotic in here. Sugar, butter, eggs, flour — all available at Aldi for well under what you'd pay at a supermarket bakery for a single slice of something equivalent. The cherries are the most expensive item at £1.35, and even those can be swapped for cheaper alternatives (more on that below).
Readers often ask about budget cakes that feel substantial — not a thin sponge that's done in three bites. This loaf delivers. Seven proper slices, the kind you'd actually serve with tea rather than apologise for. If you've been making the coconut cake at 21p a slice and want something with a bit more body, this is the natural next step.
Full Cost Breakdown
| Ingredient | Quantity Used | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Caster sugar | 175g | 21p |
| Softened butter | 175g | £1.31 |
| Eggs (medium) | 3 | 39p |
| Vanilla essence | 1 tsp | 12p |
| Self-raising flour | 200g | 10p |
| Baking powder | 1 tsp | 3p |
| Glacé cherries | 150g | £1.35 |
| Total (7 slices) | £3.51 | |
| Cost per slice | ~50p | |
Want to bring the cost down further? Skip the cherries entirely and make a plain Madeira loaf — that drops the total to around £2.16, or roughly 31p per slice. The cherries are lovely, but they're the most expensive ingredient by a clear margin. A plain Madeira with a cup of tea is still a very good thing.
Ingredients
- 175g caster sugar
- 175g softened butter (unsalted or salted — both work fine)
- 3 medium eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 200g self-raising flour, plus a little extra for dusting the cherries
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 150g glacé cherries
Equipment needed: 2lb loaf tin, electric hand whisk, mixing bowl, large jug or second bowl, spatula, greaseproof paper, skewer or cocktail stick.
Using plain flour instead of self-raising? Add 2½ tsp baking powder total (instead of just the 1 tsp) and give it a good mix through the flour before adding to the batter.
Step-by-Step Method
Step 1 — Prepare the Cherries
Halve the glacé cherries. You can chop them smaller if you'd prefer more even distribution through each slice, but halves work perfectly well. Once halved, tip them into a bowl and dust with a tablespoon or so of self-raising flour. Toss to coat. Set aside.
This step is the one most people skip the first time. Don't. The flour coating is what keeps the cherries from sinking. Without it, you'll end up with a plain Madeira with a jammy layer at the bottom, which is annoying.
Step 2 — Cream Butter and Sugar
Put the softened butter and caster sugar into a large jug or deep bowl. Using an electric hand whisk on a low setting, bring them together first, then increase speed slightly and beat for about one minute until the mixture looks pale and slightly fluffy.
A jug works better than a wide bowl here — less splatter. If you only have a bowl, drape a tea towel loosely over the top for the first 20 seconds while it comes together. Saves cleaning sugar off the worktop.
Step 3 — Add the Eggs
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The mixture will loosen noticeably with each egg — that's normal. Once all three are in, give it a good 2–3 minutes of beating until the batter looks smooth and a little glossy. Scrape down the sides of the jug partway through.
If the mixture looks curdled or split — small lumps floating in a slightly greasy liquid — don't panic. It usually comes back together once the flour goes in. Adding a tablespoon of flour with the last egg can prevent it altogether if your eggs are cold.
Step 4 — Add Flour and Vanilla
Transfer the egg and butter mixture to a larger mixing bowl if needed. Add the vanilla essence, then sift in the self-raising flour and baking powder. Fold everything together gently with a large spoon or spatula — not the electric whisk at this stage. You want to keep as much air in the batter as possible. Stop folding as soon as there are no dry streaks of flour left.
Step 5 — Fold in the Cherries
Add the floured cherries and fold them through the batter using the same gentle motion. A few folds is enough — you're not trying to distribute them perfectly, just get them reasonably spread through the mix.
Step 6 — Into the Tin
Grease a 2lb loaf tin with a little butter, then line with a strip of greaseproof paper that runs along the base and up the two long sides. This makes it much easier to lift the cake out once it's cooled.
Spoon in the batter. Use a spatula to clean the bowl and get every last bit in. Level the top roughly — it doesn't need to be perfectly smooth, just reasonably even so it bakes uniformly.
Step 7 — Bake
Bake at 170°C (150°C fan / Gas Mark 3) for approximately 45 minutes. At the 45-minute mark, check by inserting a skewer into the centre. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If it comes out with wet batter, give it another 5–10 minutes and check again.
If the top is browning too quickly before the centre is set, lay a piece of tin foil loosely over the top for the remaining time. Don't seal it down — just rest it on top. This slows the browning without trapping steam.
Step 8 — Cool and Slice
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then use the greaseproof paper to lift it out onto a wire rack. Let it cool fully before slicing — cutting into it too soon compresses the crumb and the slices won't hold their shape cleanly. It's worth waiting.
What If It Goes Wrong?
🔴 All the cherries sank to the bottom
The flour coating was skipped or not enough was used. Nothing can be done once baked, but the cake is still perfectly good to eat — the bottom will just be extra jammy. Next time, make sure every cherry half is properly coated and shake off excess flour before folding in.
🔴 The top cracked and looks burnt at the edges
Madeira loaves almost always crack down the centre — that's normal and expected. If the edges are darker than you'd like, the oven was running slightly hot. Cover with foil earlier next time, or drop the temperature by 10°C.
🔴 The cake is dense and heavy, not light
Most likely cause: the flour was stirred rather than folded, knocking out the air that was built up during creaming. Or the butter wasn't soft enough at the start. Butter straight from the fridge doesn't cream properly — it needs to be genuinely soft, not just room temperature for 5 minutes.
🔴 Wet or gummy in the middle after 45 minutes
Give it more time. Every oven runs differently. Add 10 minutes and check again with the skewer. If the top is already dark, foil it first. It will get there.
Common Mistakes
❌ Skipping the cherry flour coating. The most common mistake. Always flour the cherries first.
❌ Using cold butter. It won't cream properly and the texture suffers. Take butter out of the fridge at least an hour before baking.
❌ Adding all three eggs at once. One at a time keeps the emulsion stable. Rushing this step risks a curdled batter.
❌ Beating the flour in with the whisk. Folding is gentler and preserves the air. A heavy, dense loaf is almost always the result of overworking the batter once the flour goes in.
❌ Cutting into a hot cake. It needs time to set. 20 minutes minimum on a wire rack before slicing.
Is This Worth Making?
Yes. Clearly. 50p a slice for a proper loaf cake with real cherries through it — there isn't a supermarket equivalent at that price that comes close to what you get here. The Madeira cake you find vacuum-packed at the end of the bakery aisle is drier, plainer, and costs considerably more per slice.
The one caveat: this is a butter-heavy recipe. At £1.31 for 175g, butter is the cost that varies most between stores. If butter prices are high in your area, check Aldi or Lidl own-brand — both tend to be noticeably cheaper than Tesco or Sainsbury's for the same quantity, and the difference in the finished cake is minimal.
If you've been baking the banoffee pie at 47p a slice and want something that lasts a bit longer in the tin — Madeira keeps better than most — this is it. Makes a full week of afternoon tea sorted for under £4. Hard to argue with that.
Storage and Freezing
Room temperature: Wrap the cooled loaf in clingfilm or store in an airtight tin. It keeps well for up to 4–5 days. The crumb actually improves slightly on day 2 — slightly more settled and easier to slice cleanly.
Freezing: Slice the loaf before freezing. Wrap individual slices in clingfilm, then place in a freezer bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Take out a slice the night before and leave at room temperature — it defrosts perfectly. Good for when you want one slice rather than committing to the whole loaf.
Fridge: Not recommended. Refrigerating loaf cakes dries out the crumb faster than leaving them at room temperature in an airtight container.
Allergen Information
May contain: Traces of nuts depending on the brand of glacé cherries used — check the packaging.
Not suitable for: Those with gluten intolerance, dairy allergy, or egg allergy without significant recipe modifications.
About the Author
Vinod Pandey researches and documents budget recipes from real UK home cooks. Every recipe on Baking on Budget is sourced from verified UK cooking sources, with ingredient costs checked against current Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl pricing. No guesswork — exact pence, every time.
Questions or corrections? Get in touch · LinkedIn
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this without an electric whisk?
Yes, but your arm will know about it. Creaming butter and sugar by hand with a wooden spoon takes around 5–7 minutes of vigorous beating to get to the right pale, fluffy consistency. Totally doable — just commit to it properly rather than stopping too early.
Can I use fresh or tinned cherries instead of glacé?
Fresh or tinned cherries have a much higher water content, which changes the batter significantly — the cake tends to turn out denser and wetter in the middle. Glacé cherries are specifically recommended here. They're available at most UK supermarkets, usually near the dried fruit and baking section.
Why does my Madeira cake always sink in the middle?
Two likely causes: the oven door was opened too early (before the structure had set, usually in the first 30 minutes), or there was too much raising agent. Stick to the quantities given, don't open the door before 40 minutes, and the centre should hold.
What can I serve this with?
A cup of tea. That's the traditional answer and it's correct. If you want to make it slightly more of a pudding, a spoonful of thick double cream on the side works well — as shown in the original video. Clotted cream if you're feeling generous. Plain is also fine. It doesn't need much.
Can I make this as a round cake rather than a loaf?
A 7-inch round tin works. Reduce the baking time slightly — start checking at 35 minutes. The shape changes but the recipe is otherwise the same. A loaf tin is easier for clean slicing and tends to keep better in storage.
How does this compare to shop-bought Madeira cake?
Shop-bought loaf cakes — even the decent supermarket own-brand ones — typically run to £1.50–£2.00 for a smaller loaf, often with a dryer crumb and no real fruit. At 50p a slice, this homemade version is cheaper, fresher, and frankly better. The 24p chocolate chip muffins follow the same logic — home baking wins on cost almost every time once you have the basics in the cupboard.
What to Bake Next
If you've got self-raising flour and butter left over after this — which you likely will — the apple turnovers at 37p each use some of both. Simple pastry, no yeast, no proving. Another loaf tin recipe that fits exactly the same kind of afternoon.
And if you're building up a repertoire of proper British bakes on a budget, have a look at the homemade mince pies at 50p each — shortcrust pastry from scratch, deep-filled, and considerably better than anything in a box from the supermarket.
0 Comments