Madeira cakes with cream cheese icing and toffee pears

Madeira cakes with cream cheese icing and toffee pears. Photo / Babiche Martens

Makes 12

Cake
180g butter, softened
3/4 cup caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
Finely grated zest of one lemon
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup ground almonds

Icing
4 Tbs cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs butter, softened
1 cup icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp lemon zest, finely grated

Pears
2 Tbs butter
2 Tbs caster sugar
2 pears, halved, cored and thinly sliced

1 To make the cakes; preheat the oven to 180C. Grease tins or use baking papers. Cream the butter and sugar until pale then add the vanilla and lemon.

2 Whisk the eggs and add a third at a time, alternating with the flour and ground almonds - folding together gently until the mixture is all combined.

3 Spoon into the moulds and bake for about 15 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched.

4 To make the icing; beat all the ingredients together until smooth, adding more lemon juice if necessary.

5 To cook the pears; heat a frying pan, add the butter and sugar. When bubbling, add the pear slices and cook for 1 minute on each side or until caramelised. Remove and place on greaseproof paper.

6 Ice the cakes generously then top with the pears, before serving with yoghurt or cream.