Recipe: Polenta Cake

Polenta Cake
rec.food.cooking/Carl Dillman/1997
Makes one 8 to 9-inch tube pan

A marvelous simple cornmeal cake from the Alps in Italy. Perfect for breakfast. If making this cake for dessert, serve with berries and a touch of whipped cream.

1 stick sweet butter, softened
1/2 cup plus 1/4 tsp. sugar
2 large egg yolks
grated zest of 1/2 orange
grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise OR 1 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 cup unblanched almonds
1/4 cup potato starch or cornstarch
1/2 cup stone-ground cornmeal
1/2 tsp. baking powder
4 large egg whites
confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter 8- to 9-inch kugelhopf or bundt pan.

Place butter, 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks and citrus zests in large bowl. If using vanilla bean, scrape seeds from pod into butter mixture or add extract. Beat until light and creamy.

In food processor, combine nuts, starch, cornmeal, and baking powder. Process until powdery. Sift this mixture onto sheet of wax paper (if bits of nuts remain in sifter, return them to mixture).

Beat egg whites with remaining 1/4 tsp. sugar until they form soft peaks. Gently fold dry ingredients and 1/2 of beaten egg whites into butter mixture, fold in remaining whites just until incorporated. Gently scrape batter into pan.

Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, usually about 40 minutes. Do not overbake.

Cool cake briefly in pan on wire rack. Run the tip of knife around the sides of cake to loosen it from pan; invert onto rack. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Serve lukewarm or at room temperature.