Chilled vichyssoise with vermouth and langoustines

20 minutes

Avocado recipes

Pavlova with pistachio sugar, avocado and kiwi fruit

45 minutes

Strawberry and coconut wafer stacks

10 to 15 minutes

Crisp vegetables with hot anchovy dip

5 minutes

Toast recipes

Grilled pork fillet with sweet maple carrot puree

5 to 10 minutes

Rolled souffle with taramasalata

45 minutes

Rolled chicken with marzipan and dried apricots

30 to 40 minutes

Berry recipes

Vanilla and strawberry layered panna cotta

10 minutes

Gluten-free treat

Blueberry and vanilla polenta cake

1 hour

Blueberry and vanilla polenta cake

By Abigail Donnelly

Serves 8

Difficulty Easy

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cooking Time 1 hour

Ingredients

250 g butter, softened
250 g caster sugar
3 free-range eggs
1 vanilla pod
100 g polenta
250 g hazelnuts, toasted and finely ground
1½ t baking powder
Juice and zest of 3 lemons
2 x 125 g punnets blueberries
50 g light brown sugar
Clotted cream, for serving (optional)

Method

Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Cream the butter and caster sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until incorporated.
Split the vanilla pod and, using the tip of a sharp knife, scrape out the seeds and fold into the creamy egg mixture, along with the polenta, ground hazelnuts, baking powder, lemon juice and zest.
Grease and line a 23 cm baking tin, then spread the blueberries onto the base and sprinkle with the brown sugar. Pour in the cake mixture and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer comes out clean.
Set aside for at least 1 hour in order to cool before removing from the tin. Place a plate onto the top of the cake, then quickly flip over and remove the cake from the tin. Serve with dollops of clotted cream, if desired.

Cook’s note: Store this cake in the fridge.

Per serving: 353.4 kJ, 1.1 g protein, 6.1 g fat, 6.6 g carbs

TASTE’s take:
This cake is always a showstopper, studded and stained with blueberries, with a magical mauve colour and lovely tart burst of flavour.

Strawberry tart with lemon posset

Beer-box (braai) platter

Rum-and-raisin rusks

Chilled vichyssoise with vermouth and langoustines

Pavlova with pistachio sugar, avocado and kiwi fruit

Strawberry and coconut wafer stacks

Strawberry dessert

Crisp vegetables with hot anchovy dip

Creamed mushrooms on toast

Grilled pork fillet with sweet maple carrot puree

Rolled souffle with taramasalata

Tequila and lemon grass

Rolled chicken with marzipan and dried apricots

Vanilla and strawberry layered panna cotta

Blueberry and vanilla polenta cake

Blueberry and vanilla polenta cake

Ingredients

Method