Niki’s Clementine, Polenta and Cardamom Cake

This cake is so sensual and soft. Honestly, there is just no other way to explain the texture, the taste and the smell…oh the sweet smell when it comes out of the oven and the honey syrup hitting the warm cake…nothing else like it. It’s gluten-free and very easy to whip up!


Ingredients:
3 large clementines (about 200g/7oz), cleaned

4 large free-range eggs

1 large orange, zest only 150g of coconut sugar 

100ml of olive oil

150g of ground almonds

20g of polenta

2 tsp baking powder @steenbergsltd 

A sprinkling of powdered stevia or icing sugar 

For the syrup: 

3 tablespoons of honey 

1 large lemon, juice only

2 tablespoons of water 

1 teaspoon of ground cardamom @steenbergsltd 


👩🏻‍🍳 Method: 

1. Place the clementines in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20–30 minutes until tender. Remove and set aside until cool enough to handle. Cut the clementines in half and discard the pips. 

2. Put the clementines, including the skin, into a food processor and blend to a paste. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4, grease a 20cm/8in spring-form cake tin and line the bottom with baking paper.

3. Whisk together the eggs, orange zest and coconut sugar in a bowl. Add the olive oil and beat until light and well combined. Stir in the clementine paste then fold in the ground almonds, polenta and baking powder.

4. Spoon the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 minutes or until well risen and golden-brown. The cake should have slightly shrunken from the sides and be springy to the touch. Leave it to cool in the tin on a wire rack.

5. Meanwhile, to make the syrup, warm the honey and lemon juice and ground cardamom in a small pan over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Make lots of small holes all over the cake with a piece of uncooked spaghetti or cocktail stick, and drizzle over the lemon syrup. 

6. Let the cake cool completely in the tin, turn it out on to a serving plate, garnish with a dollop of coconut yoghurt, dust with icing sugar/stevia and serve right away! 


Enjoy enjoy!
Niki