Blueberry, Orange and Polenta Cake
Serves: 8
This moist Italian inspired cake, bejeweled with blueberries, is more pudding than cake, especially when served with a spoonful of mascarpone flavoured with your favourite orange liqueur!
Ingredients:
125g butter, at room temperature125g caster sugar
1 orange, grated rind and 3 tbsp of the juice (about ½ an orange)
75g polenta
75g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
50g ground almonds
2 medium free-range eggs, beaten
1 tbsp orange flower water, optional
150g blueberries
To finish:
75g caster sugar
1 orange, grated rind of half and 5 tbsp of the juice
Few pistachios, sliced
250g mascarpone soft cheese
2 tbsp orange liqueur
Extra blueberries to decorate
method:
- Preheat the oven to 170C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease and base line a 23cm springform tin. Add the butter and sugar to a large bowl or food processor then add the orange rind and beat together until light and fluffy.
- Mix the polenta, flour, baking powder and ground almonds in a bowl. Gradually mix alternate spoonfuls of beaten egg and the polenta mix into the creamed butter and sugar and beat well after each addition until smooth once more.
- Stir in 3 tablespoons orange juice and the orange flour water, if using. Spoon into the lined tin and sprinkle the blueberries over the top.
- Bake for about 35 minutes until the cake is well risen, cracked slightly on top and a skewer comes out cleanly when inserted into the centre of the cake.
- Mix 50g of the remaining sugar with 3 tablespoons of orange juice together in a bowl. Remove the cake from the tin and put on to a cooling rack, peeling away the lining paper and set the rack over a plate. Skewer the top of the cake then drizzle over the orange syrup and sprinkle with the pistachios. Leave to cool.
- When ready to serve, mix the mascarpone with the grated rind of ½ an orange rind and the rest of the sugar then gradually mix in 2 tablespoons of orange juice and the liqueur.
- Transfer the cake to a board, top with extra blueberries then cut into thin slices. Serve with spoonfuls of the mascarpone mix.
