Orange Polenta Cake

This Orange Polenta Cake is easy to make, moist, sweet and refreshing with a lovely zesty hit of orange to remind you of summer and all things fun!

Course Dessert

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1

Servings slices

Calories 288kcal

Author Kim

Cream Butter and Sweetener: Add 1 cup unsalted butter and 1 cup granulated sweetener that measures like sugar to a large mixing bowl and mix with electric hand beaters on medium/high until combined. (It might seem a little gritty at first, but this is normal)
Add in Eggs/Vanilla: Once the butter and sweetener is creamed, beat in the 3 large eggs, room temperature one at a time, followed by 1 teaspoon vanilla essence.
Add the Dry Ingredients to a new bowl: add ½ cup polenta, 2 cups almond meal, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon orange blossom water and zest of 2 medium oranges and mix to combine. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and gently mix it all together
Pour Batter into cake tin and cook: Spoon the batter into 23cm/9 inch sized springform tin and bake for 160 degrees C or 320 degrees F for 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool: let cake cool in the tin for 5 minutes.

Make Syrup: Add ¼ cup orange juice, 2 tablespoons granulated sweetener that measures like sugar, 1 teaspoon orange blossom water and 2 cardamom pods (squashed)to a pot on medium heat until the sweetener has dissolved. Then bring to the boil for around 4 to 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let it sit for 5 minutes to cool. Syrup should be thin so that it can be absorbed into the cake easily.
Add Syrup to Cake: Use a fine metal cake skewer to poke around a dozen holes in the top and pour over the orange syrup. At first, it might seem that the syrup is too much for the cake, don’t be alarmed. Just make sure you pour the syrup on no later than 5 minutes out of the oven so the syrup can sink in properly.

Polenta: Buy a fine ground polenta as opposed to a more course one. I found the finer polenta has a nicer texture. The brand I use is “Sostanza Polenta”.
Sweetener: any type of natural granulated sweetener that measures like sugar would work in this recipe. I love to use monkfruit sweetener.
Oranges: I used a large Navel orange for this recipe. Navel oranges are plump, sweet and juicy. Valencia or any other sweet juicy orange variety would be a good substitute.
Orange Blossom Water: this is like rosewater, but made from the orange blossoms on trees. Its beautifully fragrant and full of citrus. I usually find it in the baking aisle of Woolworths or Coles. If you can’t find it, zest another orange instead.
Syrup consistency: the consistency of this orange syrup is not like honey or even maple syrup. It is thinner and not really like you would expect a “syrup” to be. This is good though because it means it will easily and quickly soak into the cake and make it super moist and zesty. It also means it will stay fresher for longer and won’t dry out!
Cake Tin: you’ll need a 23cm/9 inch sized springform tin lined with baking paper.
Hand Held Electric Beaters: These also help to cream the butter and sugar
Storage: Store cake in an air tight container for 3 – 4 days.