Michelle Darmody: How to make a classic polenta cake — and mistakes to avoid
"For baking it is best to opt for a very finely ground polenta, otherwise you will find there is a grittiness to your cakes."
Polenta can be used equally well in sweet or savoury cooking and is made by grounding corn into flour. It comes in various textures from coarse to fine.
For baking it is best to opt for a very finely ground polenta, otherwise you will find there is a grittiness to your cakes.
This cake has a lovely rich, buttery, citrus flavour. Pouring the syrup over the warm cake at the end is key to keeping the cake full of moisture.
Because it is made with a combination of polenta and ground almonds, rather than wheat flour, the cake might sink ever so slightly as it cools.
This combination of ingredients makes this cake gluten free, once it is prepared in a gluten free environment, however it is proteins in gluten that helps to keep the shape and structure of most cakes.
This polenta cake lacks that structure so a little sinkage can be expected.
There is a variation included that uses elderflower which adds a breath of summer freshness. Using rose water or orange blossom water are too other ways to alter the recipe.
You can make a syrup with either of these ingredients. Both works well topped with chopped pistachio nuts and edible rose petals, served with a dollop of natural yogurt.
Polenta Cake
This cake has a lovely rich, buttery, citrus flavour. Pouring the syrup over the warm cake at the end is key to keeping the cake full of moisture.
Preparation Time
60 minsCooking Time
30 minsTotal Time
1 hours 30 minsCourse
BakingCuisine
12Ingredients
For the orange layer:
1 large orange (unwaxed if possible)
100g golden caster sugar
80ml water
For the cake:
250g soft butter
zest 2 lemons
½ tbs lemon juice
220g golden caster sugar
3 eggs, separated
150g ground almonds
225g fine polenta
1 tbs soft muscovado sugar
Method
Line an 8-inch round tin with parchment. I use either a loose-bottom or spring-form tin. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/gas mark 4.
Slice the orange into thin rounds, about ½ a centimetre in thickness. Take out and discard any pips. Add the 100g of golden caster sugar into a saucepan, along with the 80mls of water.
Gently add in the orange slices. Bring the pan to a simmer, then gently cook the orange slices for 10 minutes. Remove the fruit from the sugar syrup and leave to cool.
Beat the butter, zest and sugar until light and fluffy. Slowly add the egg yolks, beating well. Stir in the juice, ground almonds and polenta with a wooden spoon.
Whip the egg whites, until soft peaks form.
Carefully fold the egg whites into the polenta mixture.
Arrange the orange slices in the base of the tin and keep the syrup for later use. Overlap the slices slightly to cover as much of the base of the tin as possible.
Scoop the polenta mixture on top of the orange slices and gently flatten it down.
Bake for 60 minutes in the centre of your oven or until golden on top.
Spoon the syrup evenly over the hot cake. Allow to cool in the tin.
When cooled, turn the cake upside down and pour a little more syrup over the top.
Ground almonds have a high oil content so can cause the cake to brown too quickly. After 40 minutes of baking look through the glass door (or open it if it is not glass).
If the cake is browning too quickly you can cover it with tinfoil for the last 15 minutes of baking.
As mentioned, there may be a small bit of sinkage, however, if the cake completely collapses in the centre, it is probably because too much air was added into the egg whites.
This causes the cake to rise a lot during the first half of baking, leading to a dramatic sinking as the cake cools. The egg whites need to be whipped to soft peaks rather than stiff ones.
If your polenta cake tastes gritty, it is likely you used a coarse grind of polenta rather than a fine one.
Unwaxed oranges can be difficult to find, if you cannot get your hands on one you can place your orange into a bowl of boiling water then carefully remove it, rub it dry with a clean tea towel to remove the wax.
If, even after simmering the orange slices you find that the peel is still too tough, remove it next time before using the orange slices. You can trim the peel and the pith off each slice before using.
If the cake batter is not combined enough the cake may rise unevenly because there will be pockets of dry ingredients which can cause weak points inside your cake.
Both the cake and the syrup should be warm when you pour the syrup over the cake, as this helps the cake to absorb it. If the cake is cold the syrup can crystallise on the top.
The cake will keep in a cool dry place for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 5 days. You can freeze the cake once it has been covered in the syrup and cooled fully.
To make a cake with pear rather than orange use one large pear, cored, peeled. Slice the pear and l ay the slices on the base of the pan.
Fan them out from the centre and sprinkle with a little brown sugar, then spread the mixture on top.
You can then make a syrup with 120g of castor sugar, 90mls of water and the juice and zest of one lemon.
Boil the sugar, water, lemon juice and zest, stirring until the sugar is dissolved allow to cool slightly and pour over the warm cake while it is still in the tin.
To make a version of the cake with the delicious summer flavours of elderflower leave out the oranges and make a simpler version of the cake.
The ½ tbsp of lemon juice can be substituted for elderflower in the recipe then an elderflower syrup or cordial poured over the cake once it is out of the oven.
A light sprinkling of the simple white blossoms of the elderflower tree are a nice way to decorate.
Divide the mixture into a greased and floured bun tin and bake for 20 minutes rather than 60, or until the cakes are golden and springy to the touch.
Make icing by dissolving icing sugar in lemon juice and when it is stiff, but pourable, spread this on top of the cooled buns and top each one with a fresh raspberry.
