Welcome to the Cake Decorators Q&A

Can anyone tell me what is the purpose of adding glycerine to a Madeira recipe. What does it do to the cake and how would it be if I didn’t use it. Thanks guys.

Madeiras are quite dense and a bit tricky to bake so can come out dry , glycerine adds moisture.

You don’t have to use glycerine, it is merely optional. Madeira cake can be dry and some bakers use it to soften the crumb. With or without glycerine, madeira cake becomes more moist three or four days after baking and has a longer shelf life than sponge cake. There are several pages of comments for madeira cake here http://www.cakeflix.com/questions?s=madeira+cake. Hope this helps.