Thursday 18 July 2013

Staple - Orange Polenta Cake

At the rate I'm going I'd say that citrus fruits & polenta seem to be a staple. Maybe even ground almonds! :/ ok. Not quite.

This has to be one of my best cakes to date and might have been even better if I hadn't sillily let all the caramel leak from a loose-bottom tin. Sigh.

With the caramel it might have tasted better and even looked more distinctive. But then there's an excuse to do it again. This time to keep the caramel, and to use larger oranges.

I decided to grind my own whole almonds, skin & all, and it was wonderful! But do feel free to use store-bought ground almonds. Just understand that the brown grains in my cake come from the almond skins so yours might be a little paler.

This recipe is adapted from Gourmet.


Naval Oranges with the
distinctive naval-like hole at the base
INGREDIENTS
Caramel Orange Layer

  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 2 tbsp butter/margarine
  • 2 naval oranges
Cake
  • 200grams softened butter/margarine
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • Juice from 1/2 an orange
  • 1/2 cup plain flour
  • 1 tsp double acting baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 cups of homemade ground almonds
  • 2/3 cup polenta
Glaze
  • Marmalade
METHOD
Cake
  1. In a food processor, grind whole, raw almonds (skins included) until similar in texture to the polenta
  2. Beat butter, eggs & sugar until light and fluffy in a large bowl
  3. Whisk polenta, flour, baking powder, ground almonds & salt in a separate bowl
  4. Add flour to butter mixture and beat until just combined
  5. Stir in the orange juice and stir again until just combined
  6. Line a 9" one-piece round baking tin with parchment paper on the bottom & side
Caramel Orange Layer
  1. Peel, slice & set aside oranges
  2. Melt sugar in water in a heavy bottom pan over low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning
  3. Bring to a rolling boil and keep stirring until it begins to caramelise to a golden-brown colour
  4. Remove pan from heat and add in the butter, swirling the mixture until the butter has melted
  5. Pour into cake tin and ensure the entire bottom is covered
  6. Lay the slices of oranges on top of the caramel in a single layer, remembering to remove all seeds
  7. Pour the cake batter over the oranges and bake in a pre-heated oven of 180 degrees C for about 1 hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean
  8. Remove cake from oven and leave to cool for about 15-30 minutes before inverting onto cake rack
  9. Peel off all parchment paper
  10. Spread desired amount of marmalade over the orange layer
  11. Store in an airtight container in the fridge if not consumed immediately


Love,
Amy.

No comments: