I’m not really into cake making but this is one I love. A slice with a mid-morning latte is perfect.
The cake is a little deeper than perhaps it should be because the recipe calls for a 23cm cake tin and mine is less than that. I keep forgetting to buy the larger tin so my Orange Polenta Cake always looks like this. I prefer it made with coarse polenta, my wife prefers it made with fine cornmeal. You’ll need to cook both to decide which is best!
Ingredients:
250g softened unsalted butter
250g unrefined golden sugar
4 eggs
150g polenta or cornmeal
200g plain flour
2tsp baking powder
zest and juice 2 oranges (less 100ml juice for the glaze)
Glaze:
100ml orange juice
100g unrefined golden sugar
Beat the butter and sugar together, then add one egg at a time beating as you do. Mix in the dry ingredients (I’ve got them already combined in another bowl so that the flour, polenta and baking powder are well mixed together), the orange zest and the orange juice after 100ml has been kept back for the glaze.
It’s probably safest to line the base and sides of your cake tin with grease proof paper, I seem to be able to get away without this with my tin. Place the mixture in the tin and smooth. Bake at 160C, or 140C for a fan oven, for around 45 minutes. If like me the cake is deeper than expected then it will take longer. Use the clean skewer test to determine when yours is cooked. This recipe doesn’t include the sliced orange on top of the cake, you’ll need a third orange if you want to add these. The orange is sliced as thinly as possible and added about 15-20 minutes before you judge the cake will be ready.
When the cake is cooked remove from the oven and allow to cool. In the meantime bring the glaze ingredients to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes and then allow to cool. Prick all over the top of the cake with skewer and then slowly pour and spread the glaze all over the top. By now my hand is itching to get hold of knife but it is best to leave the cake for another hour or two for the glaze to really soak in properly.