Lemon Polenta Cornmeal Cake Food

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.

LEMON POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• This cake is a sort of Anglo-Italian amalgam. The flat, plain disc is reminiscent of the confections that sit geometrically arranged in patisserie windows in Italy; the sharp, syrupy sogginess borrows from the classic English teatime favorite, the lemon drizzle cake. It is a good marriage: I love Italian cooking in all respects save one - I find their cakes both too dry and too sweet. Here, though, the flavorsome grittiness of the polenta and tender rubble of ground almond meal provide so much better a foil for the wholly desirable dampness than does the usual flour.
• But there is more to it than that. By some alchemical process, the lemon highlights the eggy butteriness of the cake, making it rich and sharp at the same time. If you were to try to imagine what lemon curd would taste like in cake form, this would be it.
• Although I am greedily happy to slice and cram messily straight into my mouth, letting damp clumps fall where they will, this cake is best eaten - in company at least - with spoon and fork. Either way, consider it a contender for teatime comfort and supper-party celebration alike.
• For the cake: Line the base of your cake pan with parchment paper and grease its sides lightly with butter. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Beat the butter and sugar till pale and whipped, either by hand in a bowl with a wooden spoon, or using a freestanding mixer.
• Mix together the almond meal, polenta and baking powder, and beat some of this into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by 1 egg, then alternate dry ingredients and eggs, beating all the while.
• Finally, beat in the lemon zest and pour, spoon or scrape the mixture into your prepared pan and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes. It may seem wibbly but, if the cake is cooked, a cake tester should come out cleanish and, most significantly, the edges of the cake will have begun to shrink away from the sides of the pan. Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its pan.
• For the syrup: Make the syrup by boiling together the lemon juice and confectioners' sugar in a smallish saucepan. Once the confectioners' sugar has dissolved into the juice, you're done. Prick the top of the cake all over with a cake tester (a skewer would be too destructive), pour the warm syrup over the cake, and leave to cool before taking it out of its pan.
• Make Ahead Note: The cake can be baked up to 3 days ahead and stored in airtight container in a cool place. Will keep for total of 5 to 6 days.
• Freeze Note: The cake can be frozen on its lining paper as soon as cooled, wrapped in double layer of plastic wrap and a layer of foil, for up to 1 month. Thaw for 3 to 4 hours at room temperature.

LEMON POLENTA POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment or waxed paper.
• Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
• Beat the egg whites until stiff; set aside.
• Cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest until fluffy, then add the egg yolks and mix well.
• Add the lemon juice and milk alternately with the dry ingredients.
• Blend just until the dry ingredients are moistened.
• Carefully fold in the beaten egg whites.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan before turning out on a rack to cool.
• Remove the lining paper and cool completely.
• Slice, spread with lemon curd, top with whipped cream and berries.

CORNMEAL ROSEMARY CAKE WITH LEMON FONDANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Butter a 9-inch cake pan, line it with a circle of parchment paper, and butter the paper.
• In a bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, rosemary, zest, baking powder, and salt.
• In a large bowl, briefly whisk the mascarpone to loosen it.
• Add the eggs one at a time, whisking to combine.
• Add the sugar and whisk until smooth.
• Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry ingredients, in two batches, into the wet ingredients, mixing until smooth.
• Stir in the butter.
• Scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan and bake until a skewer comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, make the lemon syrup.
• Combine the lemon juice and the sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves.
• Remove from the heat.
• Allow the cake pan to cool on a rack for 5 minutes before unmolding.
• To unmold, run a small knife around the cake.
• Place an inverted plate over the cake pan and, protecting your hands with a kitchen towel, invert the whole thing.
• The cake should slide right out onto the plate.
• Peel off the parchment paper, then place a 9-inch cardboard circle or an inverted plate over the cake and, again, invert the whole thing.
• Remove the top plate and the cake will be right side up.
• With a wooden skewer, poke a few dozen holes all over the top of the cake.
• While the cake is still warm, brush the cake with the lemon syrup.
• Continue brushing for several minutes, giving the syrup time to sink into the cake, until you've used all or most of the syrup.
• Allow the cake to cool.
• To make the lemon fondant, bring a small saucepan of water to a boil.
• Add the rosemary leaves and blanch them for one minute.
• Scoop out the rosemary leaves with a small sieve and drop them immediately into a small bowl of ice water.
• Drain, and spread the rosemary leaves on a paper towel to dry.
• In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, cream, and lemon juice until smooth, then whisk in the blanched rosemary and the zest.
• When the cake is completely cool, transfer it to a rack set over a baking sheet.
• (If your cake is not on a cardboard circle, use a wide spatula to transfer it.) Pour the fondant over the top of the cake and allow it to drip off the sides.
• You can gently tilt the cardboard circle or the wire rack back and forth to encourage the glaze to completely flow over the top of the cake.
• While the glaze is still wet, transfer the cake to a cake plate.
• Allow the fondant to dry, an hour or more, before serving the cake.
• (If you allow the glaze to dry before you transfer it, the glaze may crack a bit, unless you are transferring it on a cardboard circle.) Because this cake is quite moist, you can make it one day ahead.
• After the cake is brushed with the syrup, allow it to cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and leave it at room temperature.
• A few hours before you're ready to serve the cake, make the fondant and glaze the cake.

LEMON POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 160C.( 320°F ).
• Grease and line a 26cm (10 inch) round cake tin with paper.
• Beat the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.
• Stir in the essence, rind and juice.
• Fold in the remaining ingredients.
• Pour into the cake pan and cover with aluminium foil. Bake.
• Check after 40 minutes - the cake is cooked when the crumbs cling to an inserted skewer. The cake should take between 40 minutes and one hour to cook.
• Serve dusted with icing sugar and with cream, mascarpone or vanilla yogurt.

LEMON (OR LIME) CORNMEAL CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325°F
• Spray cooking spray into a 12 cup Bundt pan.
• Mix together flour, cornmeal, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, set aside.
• In medium bowl, beat butter, sugar, lemon zest and juice with mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy.
• Beat in the eggs one at a time, until well-blended.
• With mixer on low, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk until the batter is smooth.
• Scrape into the prepared Bundt pan; level the top with a spatula.
• Bake 55-65 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
• Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, whisk glaze ingredients in a small bowl (sugar may not be dissolved all the way).
• Invert cake from pan to plate.
• Brush glaze all over hot cake (sugar crystals will be evident).
• Let cake rest several hours before serving.
• Store cake at room temperature up to 4 days.
• Sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with blueberry or strawberry preserves.
• Enjoy!

LEMON POLENTA (CORNMEAL) CAKE

Steps:

• Grease and line a small cake tin or loaf pan and set the oven to 180°C or 350°F.
• Place the dates and water in a pan and simmer over a low heat until they are soft and most of the water has been absorbed. Allow them to cool a little.
• Process the dates and butter or margarine until creamy.
• Add the eggs, ground almonds, polenta, flour, baking powder, lemon rind and lemon juice. Process until well combined. The mixture should have a soft dropping consistency, so add a little extra water if needed.
• Place the mixture in the baking tin and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch.
• Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack and remove the lining paper. Once cold, store in an airtight container and eat within three days or freeze.