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update: cake
A couple of people were curious about the polenta, almond, and orange cake I was making today, so let me say that the taste is delicious. It's got a gloriously orange-y flavor, deep yet bright, with just a hint of spice from the coriander.
I basically followed this recipe, with a couple of tweaks. First, I boiled the orange (a Valencia) for about two hours instead of using it raw. That's the standard practice in most cakes that include a whole orange; it supposedly eliminates some of the bitterness from the pith. I also removed about half the peel before putting the orange in the food processor. With some of the peel, I scraped off as much of the bitter pith as I could and put the zesty part back in, but the rest I just discarded. This was also to reduce bitterness.
I also used less sugar, about 1 2/3 cups.
Finally, I soaked the hot cake in a citrus syrup made with the zest and juice of one lemon, the zest and juice of one large Valencia orange, and a couple of tablespoons of confectioners' sugar aka icing sugar. I boiled this mixture until it started to become syrupy, then spooned it gently over the cake. (In my last post I said I would put cardamom in the syrup, omitting the optional coriander in the cake, but then I thought about the flavor of olive oil and decided that coriander was better after all. So that went into the cake and I didn't put spices into the syrup.)
The recipe doesn't specify a kind of polenta, but for heaven's sake use a fine grind! I used coarse, and the result is a tad . . . crunchy. Still tastes great, but I'm glad I wasn't planning to bring it to a party or something.
I basically followed this recipe, with a couple of tweaks. First, I boiled the orange (a Valencia) for about two hours instead of using it raw. That's the standard practice in most cakes that include a whole orange; it supposedly eliminates some of the bitterness from the pith. I also removed about half the peel before putting the orange in the food processor. With some of the peel, I scraped off as much of the bitter pith as I could and put the zesty part back in, but the rest I just discarded. This was also to reduce bitterness.
I also used less sugar, about 1 2/3 cups.
Finally, I soaked the hot cake in a citrus syrup made with the zest and juice of one lemon, the zest and juice of one large Valencia orange, and a couple of tablespoons of confectioners' sugar aka icing sugar. I boiled this mixture until it started to become syrupy, then spooned it gently over the cake. (In my last post I said I would put cardamom in the syrup, omitting the optional coriander in the cake, but then I thought about the flavor of olive oil and decided that coriander was better after all. So that went into the cake and I didn't put spices into the syrup.)
The recipe doesn't specify a kind of polenta, but for heaven's sake use a fine grind! I used coarse, and the result is a tad . . . crunchy. Still tastes great, but I'm glad I wasn't planning to bring it to a party or something.