Polenta Cake

Polenta is a new ingredient that I have been exploring in different ways, a cake is what I came up with; different isnt it? It is also a gluten free ingredient. Gluten is a protein found in many grains like wheat, bulgur (dalia), couscous, oats etc. A lot of people these days are either being diagnosed as gluten intolerant or choose to go on a gluten free diet for various reasons. What I realized was that polenta is a great ingredient to work with! From savory to sweet, it knows how exactly to blend in with its fellow ingredients. Polenta is also a great substitute for mashed potatoes or you could also serve them as a side in your steaks or bakes.

Polenta cake has a nice moist, grainy and crumbly texture. The minute I saw the finished cake, I knew it has to be good! This cake can be served with your tea/coffee or as a dessert. I recently had some guests at home and served it with some poached peaches, infused with vanilla. You could also use mixed poached fruits to give it a nice colorful and fruitful appeal. I also served mine with some cream cheese. However, my friends on the second serving suggested that ice-cream would be a really good option.

Ingredients:

(Serves 6-8)

100 gms fine polenta

100 gms ground almond or almond meal

100 gms butter at room temperature

100 gms raw sugar

5 gms baking powder

2 eggs at room temperature

1/2 tsp vanilla extract or pure vanilla powder

Procedure:

1. Sieve polenta and baking powder in a bowl. Add almond meal and mix. Keep this dry mix aside.
2. Mix the butter and sugar in a separate bowl. Add eggs and mix until creamy in texture.
3. Add vanilla and dry mix to this wet mixture. Mix until combined. Do not mix vigorously.
4. Put this mixture in a round cake pan and bake  at 180 degree centigrade in a pre heated oven for about 25 minutes or depending on your oven settings.
5. Test the cake by inserting a tooth pick and checking if the center is cooked. Cool on a wire rack for at  two hours and serve warm or cold with ice-cream or some poached fruits.

I’ve noticed that the cake tastes much better the next day or on a third day. You can store this cake at room temperature for 3 days in cold weather condition.

Ingredients like polenta & raw sugar are available at  i2cook.com.

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