Madeira sponge
- noun
- /məˈdɪərə spʌndʒ/
- UK
:
esponja de Madeira
- He enjoyed a slice of Madeira sponge alongside a glass of Madeira wine.
Examples
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The Madeira sponge had a moist, buttery crumb that melted in my mouth.
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She baked a delicious Madeira sponge for dessert.
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For afternoon tea, she baked a classic Madeira sponge to serve with coffee.
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He enjoyed a slice of Madeira sponge alongside a glass of dessert wine.
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The Madeira sponges at the bakery are famous.
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For afternoon tea, she baked a classic Madeira sponge to serve with coffee.
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The Madeira sponge had a moist, buttery crumb that melted in my mouth.
Synonyms
1
5.6
A rich, firm sponge cake with a close, buttery texture
How Dense
Surface Forms
Morphology
Madeira + sponge
The phrase combines a type/designation 'Madeira' (the fortified wine) with 'sponge' used in the culinary sense (sponge cake), so the meaning — a sponge cake associated with or flavored by Madeira — is directly derivable from the constituents. This follows a common noun-modifier pattern (flavour/type + cake) found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituent senses will understand it.
Etymology
Madeira sponge got its name because people often ate the rich sponge cake with a glass of 'Madeira' wine, so the name tells you it is a rich cake often served with that wine.