Orange-Glazed Polenta Cake Recipes

Apparently I’m not the only one who loves polenta cake. Italians love it so much that it is called amore polenta. Which means “polenta love”.

Well, at least that’s what I thought it meant, because love French means “love”. And I assumed it was the same in Italian. (Another reason to finally achieve that lifelong ambition to live in Italy and learn Italian.) But for now, checking in an Italian dictionary, I learned that “amor” means “for.” (Like, for its purpose.) So I’m not sure how it got its name, but this cake makes a pretty good argument for whipping polenta into a cake.

I’m one of those people who is totally crazy about anything from cornbread to a kind of cookie polenta ice cream that I’m pretty sure no one else has ever made, because I used a completely obscure polenta that few people can get their hands on. But I felt compelled to make this to use up the little bag of polenta I had.

Fortunately, polenta is available almost anywhere. I prefer to buy stone-ground polenta, which has a crunchier flavor. But you can use instant polenta for this cake, usually something I avoid. But I found myself with a bag of it and looking for ways to use it. And here’s where the rest of it lands.

Like many Italian cakes, which are unlike American cakes, this is not a buttery bomb of richness. True, there is butter and a few eggs. But the great flavor comes from the ground almonds, which make the cake much moister the next day because the almonds soak up the bits of oil, which is one of those baking terms (opposite love) seems to be talking about it often. Polenta adds a bit of savory quality to desserts, which draws me to use it a lot when baking.

This cake is a great snacking cake and I tend to walk around my apartment several times a day, somehow often landing near the cake, where a serrated knife is kept on the side. Prepared and waiting for a slice off.

Along with the collection of polentas, I got myself a collection of eaux-de-vie. Some were gifts, others were picked up on my travels. A few are fennel-based, which pair nicely with polenta and chocolate. I have a ginger that eats summer fruits when they are in season, such as peaches, nectarines and apricots. and tall bottle in front right, eau-de-vie After the lees that I got in Switzerland, I found out how to find good raisins lie (eau-de-vie made from leftover grape yeast, and other stuff that falls to the bottom of wine vats after fermentation) was, swirled in fondue cauldrons.

As astute readers can see from the bottle filling line, that project never came to fruition. (I’ve been too busy trying to organize my polentas and eux-de-vie. And making a way to live in both Italy and France.) But I added a few shots of orange liqueur (not shown), which gave it some flavor. Not enough to realize. But like that bag of instant polenta I’d had for months, I was always aware it was there. You can use any kind of liqueur you like – maraschino, limoncello, absinthe, kirsch, even anise liqueur.

As much as I like this as a snacking cake, it can be decorated with a fruit compote. I sliced some tangerines, navel oranges and pink grapes, drizzled a little honey on them and served them alongside the cake. I had planned to spoon some warm sabayon over the cake and fruit, but decided I had more to do. Namely, get cracking using some of the liquor bottles I’ve been hoarding.

Orange-Glazed Polenta Cake

For this cake, using fine-ground polenta or instant polenta will have a smoother texture, although whatever is available will work. I made it with coarse polenta, and enjoy the crunch. Almond flour is available at specialty stores, Trader Joe’s and online. If you can’t find it, grind 7 1/2 ounces (215 grams) of chopped blanched almonds in a food processor with flour until the almonds are pulverized. While cakes like this don’t always need decorating, I glazed it with a sprinkled orange glaze that sets and gives a citrus-flavored fruit crunch to the top. For those who want to skip the liqueur in the cake, you can leave it out and increase the almond extract to 1 1/4 teaspoons. For the glaze, you replace the liqueur with orange juice.

Materials

for the cake

8 Ounces (225 grams) Unsalted butter cube, at room temperature
Short 1 cup (180 grams) sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
3 big egg At room temperature
2 table spoon Liqueur or eau-de-vie Such as orange liqueur (Grand Marnier or Cointreau), kirsch or grappa
3/4 teaspoon Pure almond extract
3/4 cup (125 grams) Finely ground polenta Plus extra for preparing the pan
2 cup (215 grams) Almond flour
6 tablespoon (55 grams) All-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder Preferably aluminum-free
1/2 teaspoon salt

For the glaze

1 1/4 cup (170 grams) powdered sugar
1 table spoon orange juice
4 teaspoon orange liqueur (eg Grand Marnier or Cointreau)

instructions

Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) loaf pan. Dust the inside with polenta, and tap off any excess. (Note: The pan I used has a nonstick finish. If you want to make sure the cake comes out nicely, you may want to cut a rectangle of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan after making it, especially if using an unfinished loaf pan.) Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. (You can also make this in a large bowl, beating the butter and sugar by hand.)
Add the eggs one at a time, turning off the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Mix in the liqueur and almond extract.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the polenta, almonds, flour, baking powder, and salt, until there are no lumps. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, until well combined. Do not overmix.
Scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top, and bake the cake until it’s golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, perhaps with just a few pieces sticking out, 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool on a rack for about 30 minutes, then run a knife around the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan and tip the cake onto the rack. Let the cake cool completely before icing.
To glaze the cake, mix powdered sugar with orange juice and orange liqueur until the glaze is thick, but still runny—not too watery, but thick like a milkshake. If necessary, add a little more sugar if too thin, or a little more liquid if too thick. You can try smoothing a bit over the cake to see if it’s the right consistency for drizzle and dripping before glazing the entire cake.
Spoon the glaze over the cake, pushing the edges with the back of a spoon or a metal spatula to encourage the glaze to run down the sides.

Note

Serving: When the glaze hardens, serve slices of cake with a favorite fruit compote, such as fresh citrus segments, caramelized pineapple, poached pears, or slices of sliced and sugared peaches (peeled) or nectarines.

Storage: The cake will keep for up to five days if well wrapped at room temperature. The cake will be noticeably moist the day after baking because of the almond oil. It can be frozen for up to two months.

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