Monday, June 11, 2007

Weekend Cookbook Challenge #17

Ani at Foodichickie is this month's host of Weekend Cookbook Challenge and selected cornmeal as the theme.

Here in Australia cornmeal goes by the name of polenta and there are various grinds that can be found along with the instant varieties that are used to make the dish called polenta.

In the past I've made a couple of breads and a cake using polenta and thought I should even that up with another cake.

I do love poundcake so when I saw a recipe for Polenta Poundcake in a book called Bake It, I knew I had to do just that and bake it!



Polenta Poundcake

150 grams softened butter, cut into small cubes
230 grams soft brown sugar
115 grams caster sugar
5 eggs, room temperature
200mls crème fraîche (or sour cream)
¾ teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla bean extract
155 grams plain flour, sifted
1½ teaspoons baking powder
150 grams fine polenta/cornmeal

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F - butter and line a long loaf pan.

Place the butter, brown sugar and caster sugar into the bowl of a mixer and beat until pale and creamy.

Add the eggs, one a time, making sure each is well incorporated before adding the next.

On a low speed add the crème fraîche, almond essence and vanilla extract - mix until just combined.

Sift the flour, baking powder and cornmeal together and then add to the mixing bowl. Fold in by hand. When combined pour the mixture into your prepared pan.

Bake for about 50 minutes or until cooked through. If you feel it's browning too quickly, lower the temperature and cover the top of the cake with baking paper lined foil.

When cooked, let it cool in the tin for 5 minutes before placing it on a wire rack.

poundcake

The book suggests serving it with a blackberry comport and cream and obviously, I complied. I just used frozen blackberries and sweated them down with a little lemon juice and caster sugar. They are served at room temperature along with a nice dollop of Meander Valley Double Cream.

The cake itself has a wonderful crunchy crust and is a deep golden brown inside - it looks and feels moist but it's highly absorbent and just soaks in the blackberry juice without falling apart. This will certainly be something I will cook more than once!

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10 comments

  1. Haalo, the photos and your description of this cake makes me want to bake it right now. But I ran out of polenta, so I'll have to get some soon.

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  2. Haalo, the pound cake was delicious on its own but you made it better. I'm craving it now! :)

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  3. What an excellent cake! I love pound cake and polenta, so this must be a recipe to make!

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  4. Hi Haalo,
    Just in time with this recipe.
    We are 'doing the pig' this coming weekend. It's my job to provide morning tea and lunch.
    This will be the perfect cake for those who don't like a spongey type cake but rather a more robust one.

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  5. Beautiful colors in both the cake and the sauce. Thanks Haalo for taking part in WCC.

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  6. I reckon I'd give the second photo about 11/10 for edibility!

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  7. Looks like this could become a baking staple and I love the way it's served. Great recipe choice!

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  8. Thanks Nora - it's a great use for those half-used packets of polenta we seem to have left in the cupboard.

    Thanks Patricia!

    Thanks Anh - polenta seems to form such a great crust in cakes.

    Thanks Karen - with you providing the goodies they are in for a magnificent feast!

    Thanks Sara - it's always a pleasure to take part!

    Thanks Trig - for that you can have the whole cake!

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  9. AnonymousJuly 04, 2007

    My boyfriend passed me a link to this site because we're searching for recipes to reverse engineer the Sour Cherry Upside Down Cake from Globe Cafe on Chapel St near High St.

    Do you know the one? Any thoughts? :)

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  10. Sorry Daniel but I don't know the Cafe. I can only suggest finding a recipe for pineapple upside down cake and trying it with sour cherries.

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