Madeleine’s Dairy Free Orange and Lemon Polenta Cake

Since my sister is dairy free, I’m trying out alternatives – for this recipe, instead of using butter, I used cold pressed olive oil.

Also if you would like to make this cake gluten free, you could just use gluten free baking powder.

Ingredients:

• 150 ml of cold pressed olive oil
• 200 grams of golden caster sugar
• 200 grams of ground almond
• 100 grams of flaked almond
• 100 grams of fine polenta
• Zest of two large unwaxed lemons
• Zest of two large unwaxed oranges
• 1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
• Picked lemon thyme
• 3 free range large eggs

1. Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees or gas mark 4.
2. Then grease and line a baking tin with dairy free butter and baking parchment.
3. To begin beat together the sugar and olive oil in a large mixing bowl until it has gone light and fluffy, you can do this by hand or by electric mixer.
4. Next mix together your dry ingredients ground almonds, fine polenta, zest of both the lemons and oranges in a large bowl.
5. Add this to your olive oil and sugar mix in a steady stream, then add one of your eggs at time to form a batter.
6. At this point add your picked lemon thyme and mix to incorporate.
7. Place your baking tin onto a level tray and fill the baking tin with the mixture ensure that the mixture is evenly spread out.
8. Place into the oven and bake for 40 minutes.

Syrup:

• 2 juiced lemons
• 125 grams of icing sugar
• 2 bruised bay leaves
• Lemon thyme stalks

1. To begin your syrup, juice lemon and oranges, once juiced place into a small saucepan.
2. Then add your bruised bay leaves and lemon thyme, bring to the boil and to infuse allow it to cool.
3. In a small bowl add your icing sugar along with the zest of an orange.
4. Once the juice has cooled pass through a fine chinois.
5. Mix together to form a syrup, this will then be poured over the cake once it has cooled on a wire rack. Allow some time for it to sit and soak up the syrup.