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Orange or Lemon Polenta Cake

Ingredients

Makes: 12-14 slices

For the Cake

• 200 grams unsalted butter – soft (a bit more for greasing)

• 200 grams caster sugar

• 200 grams ground almonds

• 100 grams cornmeal (fine polenta)

• 1½ teaspoons baking powder (avoid if gluten-free)

• 3 large eggs

• 1 Orange Zest (or 2 Lemons) - juice is saved for syrup – see below

For the syrup

• Orange juice (or lemon juice - see above)

• 125 grams icing sugar

Method

1. Use the baking parchment to line the base of a cake tin and grease its sides lightly with butter.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F, and 160°C Fan or Gas Mark 4)

3. Whip the butter and sugar thoroughly in a bowl using a wooden spoon

4. Mix almonds, polenta and baking powder, and beat them into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by dry eggs, one at a time, beating all the while.

5. Finally, beat in the orange/lemon zest and pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes.

6. If the cake is cooked, the edges of the cake will have begun to shrink away from the sides of the tin - remove from the oven to a cooling rack.

7. Make the syrup by boiling the orange/lemon juice and sugar in a saucepan until dissolved.

8. Prick the top of the cake all over with a cake tester or a fork, pour the warm syrup over the cake, and leave to cool before taking it out of its tin.