Polenta and Almond Cake

I seem to have a fascination with using polenta in cakes - there's been little Blueberry polenta cakes, a Polenta Poundcake, one with Polenta and Ricotta and even a serving of lemon polenta cookies. It's not all that surprising that when I spied a recipe for a polenta and almond cake in La Cucina Italian that I'd soon be making it.



Polenta and Almond Cake

1 egg
2 egg yolks
100 grams caster sugar
1 heaped teaspoon vanilla bean paste
100 grams melted butter, cooled
100 grams fine polenta
100 grams plain flour, sifted
50 grams almond meal
50 grams flaked almonds
icing sugar, for dusting

Butter and line the base of a 20cm loose-bottomed round cake tin.

Place the egg, egg yolks, sugar and vanilla bean paste into a bowl of an electric mixer. Beat until the mixture becomes light and creamy.

With the motor running, drizzle in the cooled butter until amalgamated. Add the flour, polenta and almond meal and beat until just combined. Pour the batter quickly into your prepared pan - smooth out the surface and then cover with the flaked almonds.

Bake in a preheated 170°C oven for about 30-40 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Let it cool slightly before removing from the pan and leave it rest on a wire rack.

Before serving, dust with icing sugar.



This is such an uusual cake - before you make it you have an idea that it might be heavier because of the polenta but it's actually more like a sponge cake. Like all cakes with polenta it has an excellent crust.



Having a bite of this cake takes me back, the flavour is so familiar and reminds me so much of cakes I'd had in Italy.