Citrus Olive Oil Polenta Cake with Rosemary Orange Glaze

This gluten free cake is going to be your best friend all summer. It’s light and bright – perfect to serve at a brunch or to bring to a friend who is hosting you for a weekend. Garnish it with dried oranges and sprigs of fresh rosemary and serve it plain yogurt. 

Citrus Olive Oil Polenta Cake with Orange Rosemary Glaze

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Yield: 1 cake

Author: Bebe Clement

A light, bright and gluten free dessert that will be your best friend all summer long.

Time

• Prep: 45 minutes
• Cook: 1 hour
• Total: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 juicy seedless orange
• 1 juicy lemon
• 2 cups of almond meal/ almond flour
• 1 cup polenta/ cornmeal
• 1 heaped tsp gluten free baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 ¼ cups olive oil
• Drizzle: juice of 1 orange, juice of ½ a lemon, ¼ cup water, ¾ cups confectioners sugar, 1 bunch fresh rosemary
• Dried oranges for garnish and plain yogurt for serving
• Special equipment: blender / food processor and a standing mixer

Recipe

1. Place the whole orange in a pot of water and boil for 30 mins. Yep the whole damn thing – don’t cut it up or anything. While it’s boiling juice and zest your lemon. Drain water and allow your orange to cool a bit. When it’s cool enough to handle, cut the orange up into quarters to make sure it’s really, truly seedless. Put the whole thing into a blender/ food processor with the lemon juice and zest and pulse into a puree.
2. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and line a 9 inch cake tin with parchment. You can actually grease it with olive oil here because the oven isn’t getting that hot.
3. Sift or mix together the almond meal, polenta, baking powder and salt in a large bowl and set aside. In the bowl of your standing mixer whip the sugar and eggs until light and sort of fluffy. Definitely pale yellow in color. After that, SLOWLY and in one stream drizzle in the olive oil while the mixer is still running. Allow mixer to run about 30 more seconds after you have finished pouring to ensure that the olive oil is well incorporated.
4. Fold in the orange puree mixture first, then fold in the polenta mixture in about three small batches. Stir with a spatula to make sure everything is evenly combined. Pour batter into your greased and lined cake pan.
5. Bake for 45 mins – 1 hour or so, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool.
6. Right when you put the cake in the oven make the drizzle. In a small sauce pot over low heat mix the orange juice, lemon juice, water and icing sugar. Bring to a boil and then toss in the bunch of rosemary and remove from heat. Allow to steep while the cake is baking.
7. When cake is cooled remove it from the baking tin and place on a serving plate. Remove the rosemary from the glaze and douse the cake in it. Allow to stand for 10 mins to soak in. Garnish with dried oranges and fresh rosemary. Serve with plain yogurt.