Polenta Almond Cake Recipes

POLENTA ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread sliced almonds in a single layer on a small baking sheet. Bake until fragrant and golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a shallow bowl; set aside to cool. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade, finely grind whole almonds; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the ground almonds, polenta, flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Pour melted butter into an 8-by-2-inch round cake pan, swirling to coat bottom and brushing up sides of the pan. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons sugar and toasted sliced almonds; set aside.
• Combine butter and remaining 1 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating to combine after each addition. Beat in orange juice and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, slowly beating just until combined.
• Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer baking pan to wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan, and cool completely.

ALMOND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Grease an 8-inch round cake pan with vegetable spray. An alternative is to butter and flour the cake pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, cake flour and baking powder and set aside.
• Using a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and almond paste on high speed until smooth, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add confectioners' sugar. Mix until thoroughly combined and light and fluffy. Raise speed to high and add the vanilla extract, whole eggs and egg yolks, 1 at a time. Mix until well combined. Reduce speed to medium and add the sour cream and dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
• Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth the surface with a spatula. Bake in the lower third of the oven for 35 minutes, or until the cake is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool. Remove from pan and dust with confectioners' sugar.

LEMON POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat an oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line the bottom of a 10-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
• Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.
• In a separate bowl, combine the almond meal, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest. Gently fold it into the butter mixture, stirring just until combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 90 to 120 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, combine the lemon juice and superfine sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil until the sugar has dissolved and the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat.
• Remove the cake from the oven and use a skewer or toothpick to prick holes in the cake. Pour the lemon syrup over the surface. Allow the cake to cool in the pan completely before serving.

ALMOND POLENTA POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lower third. Butter an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cut almond paste into 2/3 cup sugar with two forks until it resembles coarse meal. Add the butter; using the paddle attachment, beat until soft and light, about 4 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together extracts, cream, and egg yolks. With mixer on medium, gradually add cream mixture to butter mixture. In a small bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Sift half the flour mixture over butter mixture, and fold to combine. Fold in remaining flour mixture.
• In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar on medium speed until stiff peaks form, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold into batter.
• Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. If top begins to brown too much, cover loosely with foil. Let cool before serving.

APRICOT, ALMOND & POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Butter a 20-23cm round cake tin. If it has a loose bottom, you will need to wrap the outside with foil to prevent any of the caramel from leaking. Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. For the apricots, put the granulated sugar and 75ml water into a saucepan. Heat slowly until the sugar has dissolved. When the sugar has melted, bring to the boil and watch the syrup until it starts to turn to a deep amber colour. Remove from the heat and add the butter. Stir until it has melted. Pour into the tin, then lay the apricots in it, cut-side down.
• For the cake, beat together the butter and sugar until light with an electric whisk. Add the egg a little at a time, then the zest and almond extract. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then fold them gradually into the egg mixture, alternating with the milk. Spoon this over the apricots and bake for 50 mins. To test it's baked, push a skewer into the centre. It should come out clean.
• Leave the cake to cool for 15 mins, then run a knife in-between the cake and the inside of the tin and invert it onto a plate. If any of the apricot halves get left behind in the tin carefully scoop them up - trying to keep their shape intact and not squash them too much - and put them back, cut-side up, on the cake. Leave the cake to cool, or serve warm if you want.
• Heat the apricot jam with 2 tbsp of water. Once the jam has dissolved, push it through a sieve to remove the bits of apricot. Leave it to cool a little - otherwise it overcooks the apricots, which should be perfectly cooked and not collapsing - then paint the jam thickly on the top of the cake. Leave this to set a little, then serve with crème fraîche or cream, if you like.

ALMOND-POLENTA POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the lower third. Butter an 8 × 9 4-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, and tap out excess. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cut the almond paste into 2/3 cup sugar with 2 forks until it resembles coarse meal. Add the butter; using the paddle attachment, beat until soft and light, about 4 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the extracts, cream, and egg yolks. With the mixer on medium, gradually add the cream mixture to the butter mixture. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt. Sift half the flour mixture over the butter mixture, and fold to combine. Fold in the remaining flour mixture.
• In another mixing bowl, beat the egg whites and remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar on medium speed to stiff peaks, 2 to 3 minutes. Fold into the batter.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. If the top begins to brown too much, cover loosely with foil. Let cool before serving.