Sunday 31 January 2010

Celebratory Cake

So with the unveiling of our newly renovated home and also of this blog, what better way to celebrate than to eat cake?! This is also for all the new-comers to Friendly Cottage too - we hope you come back to visit again. Here's my recipe for a delicious lemon polenta cake. I like to serve it drizzled with a lemon and rose syrup and scattered with sugared rose petals....because I'm a lay-dy!



LEMON POLENTA CAKE WITH A LEMON & ROSE SYRUP

Serves 6-8

CAKE
200g butter, softened + extra for greasing
200g caster sugar
3 eggs
zest and juice of 1 lemon
150g ground almonds
150g polenta
1 tsp baking powder
SYRUP
125g sugar
1 tsp rosewater
TO SERVE
25g sugared rose petals
crème fraiche

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F / Gas Mark 4). Lightly grease a deep 20cm round tin with butter.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl until light in colour and creamy. Add the eggs in one by one, mixing well to combine. Add the lemon zest and juice (reserving the lemon shells) and then fold in the ground almonds, polenta and baking powder to give a smooth mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon.  Place on a baking tray and bake for about 1 hour, covering with foil for the last 15 minutes, until golden and cooked through.

Meanwhile, make the lemon and rose syrup. Pop the reserved lemon shells in a small saucepan and pour over 125ml of cold water. Add the sugar and rosewater and bring to a simmer, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and leave to cool and thicken. Remove and discard the lemon shells.

Leave the cooked cake to cool in the tin for a few minutes before removing and leaving to cool completely. When still warm, pierce all over with a skewer, pushing it in fairly deeply. Drizzle half of the syrup over slowly, allowing it to seep into the cake.

Once the cake is ready to serve, scatter the sugared rose petals over the top. Cut the cake into wedges and arrange on plates. Drizzle some of the remaining syrup over and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche.

TIP
Sugared rose petals can be bought in jars in some supermarkets or speciality shops. Alternatively, you can make your own by dipping fresh rose petals in lightly beaten egg white and then caster sugar to stick. Leave them to dry out a little on a cooling rack before using to decorate.

5 comments:

Elaine Prunty said...

yummmmmmm, that cake is a wonderful addition to the gorgeous kitchen and given what you say I can't resist posting this link for marty ;0) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPUsQDm-HQY

loving the new look

Ciara Brehony said...

Oh, this looks deliciously divine. I'll just have to use my powers of imagination for this one...sigh...

I'm sure you won't mind the little mention I gave you over on mine? :-)

C x

All things nice... said...

Oh wow I love your new look blog- its beautiful :) Looks so pretty :) My cooking skills aren't great so I have to start with something really simple, that cake looks yummy though :)

All things nice...

Lorna said...

Ooh, perfect for a Monday morning diet!! Looks so scrummy

Sandy said...

Hi,
This is my first time at your blog...I came to you via Lemonade Kitty! What a lovely kitchen you have!!!! I just think it is perfect! I am going to be doing a minor remodel of mine hopefully later this year, mind if I grab a few ideas??? Please coem by and say hello! Sandy

Œ