Orange and Chocolate Polenta Cake

On Wednesday evening B was out at his pottery class in a railway arch, and home alone as I was, I set about on a sporadic baking frenzy. This orange and chocolate polenta cake was the result. A result I was rather pleased with. Store-cupboard staples with lots of fresh oranges and a few chunks of chocolate for good measure ended up with a gluten-free, super moist (sorry!) loaf with a dark crust and lashings of sugary orange syrup. It disappeared pretty fast.

Orange and Chocolate Polenta Cake

For the cake:

4 eggs

170ml olive oil

170g caster sugar

Zest of 2 oranges

100g ground almonds

140g polenta

1 tsp baking powder

100g dark chocolate

For the syrup

150ml orange juice

55g caster sugar

1. Heat the oven to 180°C

2. Grease and line a loaf tin
3. Beat together the egg yolks, oil, 150g caster sugar and orange zest until smooth
4. Mix the dry ingredients together
5. Fold dry ingredients into oil and sugar mixture
6. Whisk egg whites to stiff peaks, then beat in the remaining 20g caster sugar
7. Fold the egg whites into the cake mixture a few tablespoons at a time. Don't worry if this seems tricky at first, the mixture will loosen up as you go
8. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean

9. While it's baking make the syrup: heat the fruit juice with the caster sugar until the sugar dissolves, then let it boil for 1 minute, before leaving it to cool

10.Pierce the cake with the toothpick

11. When the cake is cool, pour over the syrup and leave to seep through the cake before cutting in!

Continue Reading...

Citrus Polenta Cake

B has instigated a bit of a polenta obsession round here lately. And he's done such wonderful things with it I had to prove myself by using it too. Sharing a delicious slice of orange and chocolate polenta cake in the office last week made sure that this weekend, polenta and cake were going to meet.

Leith's Baking Bible was called forth from its parking space on the shelf. I didn't have the exact ingredients so fiddled with it slightly. But only slightly. And I'm making the poppy seeds essential. They should not be optional. Neither should a dollop of crème fraîche to serve.

Citrus Polenta Cake (from Leith's Baking Bible, with a couple of teeny alterations)

4 eggs

170ml olive oil

170g caster sugar

zest of 1 orange

zest of 1 lemon

100g ground almonds

140g polenta

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp poppy seeds

150ml lemon and orange juice

55g caster sugar

1. Heat the oven to 180°C

2. Grease and line a 23cm spring-form tin

3. Beat together the egg yolks, oil, 150g caster sugar and zests until smooth

4. Mix the dry ingredients together, then fold into the egg mixture

5. Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks, then beat in the remaining caster sugar

6. Fold into the cake mixture, a few tablespoons at a time

7. Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean

8. While its baking, and your kitchen is filled with beautiful smells, heat the fruit juice with the caster sugar until the sugar dissolves. Then boil the mixture for 1 minute before leaving to cool

9. Pierce the cake, helping it cool, and when it is cool, cover in the syrup. Leave it for as many minutes as you can before cutting in.

Continue Reading...