Traditional Madeira Island Molasses & Spices Cake

When December 8th arrives in the Madeira Island, everyone knows what that means! It’s the feast of Our Lady of the Conception, and more importantly for our stomachs, it’s the traditional day to make Madeira Island Honey Molasses Cake so it’s ready just in time for Christmas. So there’s nothing quite like following tradition and baking some beautiful cakes!

Madeira Honey Cake is one of those wonderfully dense cakes packed with dried fruits and warm spices, and the best part? It traditionally lasts a whole entire year, which is where that classic saying comes from, on December 8th you eat the leftovers from last year’s cakes and get a fresh batch going for this year, hehehe. This recipe makes about 2 cakes (+/- 600gr each), so you’ll have plenty to share (or hoard, no judgment here).

Now I have to be honest with you, the traditional Madeira Honey Cake is one of those sweets that is often better to just buy ready-made than to make yourself, since it’s quite a bit of work and patience. But if you’re feeling adventurous and want to fill your kitchen with the most incredible Christmas smell imaginable, then let’s get into it! And yes i know it’s not Christmas time, but it was the recipe that I wanted to publish today! 😛

Traditional Madeira Island Molasses & Spices Cake

Servings: 12
Time: 1hr
Difficulty: Normal
Rating: ★★★★★
Print

This is the classic molasses and spice cake recipe, a deeply traditional treat from the Island of Madeira, Portugal. This is the type of cake that requires some planning ahead and it's a bit of work, but the final result... ohhh for that almost anything is worth it! ;D

Ingredients

Flour – 400g (Type 65)
Water – 75ml (Warm)
Baker’s Yeast – 10g (1 Sachet)
Lard – 45g
Butter – 75g
Sugar – 90g
Molasses – 200ml (Saccharin Cane Honey or Madeira Cane Honey)
Orange – 1/2
Madeira Wine – 50ml
Sodium Bicarbonate – 1/2 Teaspoon
Aniseed – A Pinch
Cinnamon – 1 Teaspoon
Nutmeg – 1 Teaspoon
Cloves – 1 Teaspoon
Raisins – 40g
Walnuts – 40g
Almonds – 40g (Skinless)
Almonds – To Taste (Skinless for Decoration)
Salt – A Pinch

Directions

First, prepare the dough by combining the baker’s yeast with the warm water in a bowl.
Then add about 100g of flour and mix well. Cover with a cloth and let it rise for a couple of hours in a warm place (you can even leave it overnight).
After this time, grind and sift the spices, chop the dried fruit, and prepare the zest and juice of half an orange.
Dissolve the baking soda in the Madeira wine and add it to a small saucepan, along with the cane honey, lard, and butter. Heat over low heat just to warm and dissolve everything, then remove from the heat.
In a large bowl or earthenware dish, combine the remaining flour and sugar. Make a well in the center and add the flour and yeast mixture. Mix and knead a little.
Gradually add the warm cane honey mixture, continuing to knead, until you have no more dough.
Finally, add the remaining ingredients: the zest and juice of half an orange, the Madeira wine with baking soda, the chopped dried fruit and spices. Season with a pinch of salt and mix everything well until you obtain a homogeneous mixture.
When the dough starts to come away from the sides of the bowl, it’s ready. Cover it with a cloth and a blanket, and leave it in a warm place for at least 2 days (48 hours) up to a maximum of 4 days (96 hours).
Finally, preheat the oven to 180ºC and prepare two round cake tin of about 18/20 cm lined with parchment paper or greased and dusted with flour.
Pour in half the batter into each cake tins and decorate with some almonds. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until well cooked. Test with a toothpick; if it comes out clean, the cake is ready.
Remove from the oven and let it cool completely before unmolding. Enjoy!

Notes & Tips: There’s a variation of this recipe where you don’t have to wait as long, but in that version the cake comes out fluffier and creamier and not nearly as dense as the original. If you want that authentic, traditional result, be patient!

Many recipes also call for slight variations in the spices, or simply say to use a “spice mix,” which is presumably a common blend in Madeira, but that makes the recipe a little trickier to track down if you’re not on the island, hehehe.

Note that this recipe is for the traditional size cake, but if instead of the more traditional 2 medium cakes, you prefer to make a big cake, then change to a like 24 to 26cm round cake tin.

The traditional Madeira Honey Cake is genuinely one of those classic sweets from Portugal, If you ever find yourself in Madeira or spot one at a Portuguese specialty shop, grab it without hesitation!

When it comes to the molasses, try to track down actual Madeira sugarcane molasses (mel de cana da Madeira) if you can, since it gives a very specific deep, rich flavor that regular molasses can’t quite replicate. Portuguese specialty stores or online shops are your best bet.

Don’t rush the fermentation stage. Those 48 to 96 hours of resting are non-negotiable if you want that dense, traditional texture. Think of it as the cake doing its own Christmas prep.

This cake keeps remarkably well, as in potentially for a whole year if stored properly in a cool, dry place, which is part of what makes it so special and so tied to the December 8th tradition.

Extra note, i know im publishing some recipes out of season, but there is a reason, i had like 10 recipes from last year that were all ready to publish but i didn’t publish because i thought there were already SOOO many christmas recipe i wanted to share, and I think everyone enjoys 1 good recipe a day not a bunch, so i delayed and now im publishing them during this year, so next year anyone searching at christmas time can find these beauties already on the site! ;D Why not! 😛

This recipe for Traditional Madeira Island Molasses & Spices Cake was originally created on BakeAfter.com.