Cornmeal And Fig Cake With Pine Nuts Recipes

CORNMEAL AND FIG CAKE WITH PINE NUTS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter 8-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Beat egg yolks and sugar in large bowl. Bring milk, grappa, and salt to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into egg yolk mixture. Return to saucepan. Whisk in polenta. Whisk over medium-high heat until mixture thickens and begins to bubble, about 8 minutes.
• Fold figs, raisins, pine nuts, and fennel seeds into polenta mixture. Pour into prepared cake pan.
• Bake cake until golden brown, set in center, and beginning to pull away from sides of pan, about 40 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes. Cut around pan sides and invert cake onto platter. Serve warm or at room temperature.

THE MOST ADAPTABLE ONE-BOWL CORNMEAL POUNDCAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees, and grease and flour a 9-inch loaf pan. (Or grease and line it with parchment.)
• In a big bowl, add the sugar, and grate the zest from the orange, lemon or lime into the bowl. If you need a little aromatherapy, work the zest into the sugar with your fingers. (This technique is supposed to infuse the citrus into the sugar.)
• Add the fat, eggs, and yogurt to the bowl, along with the extract and nutmeg, if you like.
• Whisk in the salt, baking soda, baking powder and cornmeal. Once smooth, whisk in flour.
• Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Let it (mostly) cool in the pan. Then slice off a thick piece, butter it and let yourself be soothed.

POLENTA FIG CAKE

Steps:

• preheat oven to 375. grease an 8" cake pan.
• beat yolks and sugar in a large bowl.
• in a saucepan bring milk, grappa, and salt to a boil, remove from heat.
• gradually add milk to egg mixture. return everything to the saucepan, add corn meal and whisk until thickened and beginning to bubble.
• add figs, raisins, nuts and fennel seeds to mixture, pour into the cake pan.
• bake 40 minutes until set and edges pull away from pan.
• cool 20 minutes in the pan, invert onto a plate, serve warm or at room temperature.

FIG POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Butter and flour an 8 x 4 x 2-inch loaf pan.
• Sieve flour, cornmeal vanilla sugar and salt in a bowl.
• Put butter in a bowl and beat.
• Slowly add the sugar; blend well.
• Add eggs to butter mixture, two at a time, and beat until light.
• (If you use applesauce, add it in between the eggs).
• Add flour mixture alternately with milk.
• Beat until smooth.
• Stir in figs and nuts.
• Spoon into greased loaf pan.
• Bake about 45 minutes, or until a wooden pick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
• Cool on a rack.

CORNMEAL PINE NUT COOKIES

Steps:

• Using a stand mixer, food processor or a large bowl and handheld mixer, cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in lemon zest, almond extract, whole egg and egg yolks until well incorporated.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt.
• Add flour mixture to butter mixture to combine, then fold in pine nuts and mix thoroughly, taking care not to overwork the dough. (The dough will be rather soft and sticky.)
• Divide dough in two, and, using plastic wrap, form each half into a log about 1 inch in diameter. Refrigerate for 2 hours and up to overnight.
• Heat oven to 325 degrees. Slice cold dough into 1/2-inch pieces. (Each slice should weigh ½ ounce/15 grams.) Place slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet 2 inches apart. Press 2 or 3 pine nuts into the surface of each slice. Bake 13 to 15 minutes, until barely browned. Dust lightly with powdered sugar.