Wednesday 6 August 2014

Lemon polenta cake

Polenta is one of the nicest grains for a cake, in that it provides a light yet firm crumb. Popular in Italian cuisine, polenta comes from corn.  


4 eggs, separated
250g caster sugar
80ml olive oil
120g polenta
200g plain flour/ground almonds
zest of two lemons

apricots, diced
icing sugar
juice of two lemons



Preheat the oven to 220C, and line the base of a cake tin with baking parchment.
Beat the egg whites until soft peaks are formed, then add the caster sugar whilst continuing to whisk.
Fold in the polenta, ground almonds and lemon zest.
Pour in the olive oil, whilst continuing to fold.
Put into the oven, and after 20 minutes turn the temperature down to 190C.
The cake should take around 40 minutes in total to cook, but depending on your oven, it is ready when the top is hard, and crumbs come out when a fork is put into the cake.
When the cake comes out of the oven, it is time to make the syrup topping.

In a small saucepan, heat the apricots until they start to soften. 
Add the lemon juice and the icing sugar, gently stirring to dissolve it.
When all the liquid has combined, pierce the top of the cake with a fork.
Drizzle the syrup over the cake - the pierced top means that the syrup is fully absorbed into the sponge.
Serve warm with soured cream.

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