Polenta orange cake

Woolworths is committed to sustainability via our good business journey. Seasonal (and other) products might not always be in stock.

This lovely polenta orange tea cake is a nod to Ma Kauthar’s delicious Kenyan basboosa (semolina cake), a deliciously syrupy, dense cake which uses semolina to achieve a toothsome, nutty texture. I've made a classic dessert using polenta, which is similar in texture.

Ingredients

200 g butter
200 g brown sugar
3 free-range eggs
1 t vanilla extract
200 g Woolworths ground macadamia nuts
100 g polenta
2 oranges, one zested and one thinly sliced
1 t orange essence
1 t baking powder

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 20 cm springform cake tin and line the bottom and sides with baking paper. Grease the paper.

2. Using an electric beater, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale. Whisk in the eggs one by one, then stir in the vanilla.

3. In a small bowl, combine the ground macadamia nuts, polenta, orange zest, orange essence and baking powder, then stir into the egg mixture.

4. Line the bottom of the cake tin with a sprinkling of brown sugar and top with the orange slices. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and the cake is coming away slightly from the sides of the tin.

5. Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 5–10 minutes, then remove from the tin. Serve warm.

Find more polenta recipes here.

Photographs: Toby Murphy
Food Assistant: Kate Ferreira