Orange Polenta Cake

As the seasons start to change, this beautiful Polenta Cake with a hint of orange is the perfect accompaniment to that special cup of your favorite fall beverage. Comforting, and delicious... it's the simple dessert recipe you didn't know you needed!

Ingredients:

For the cake
- 1 cup soft unsalted butter (plus some for greasing)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1¾ cup ground almonds
- ​2/3 C fine polenta 
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 3 large eggs
- Zest of 2 oranges (set aside juice for syrup)

For the syrup
- Juice of 2 oranges
- 2/3 cup sugar

Instructions:

-Line the base of a 9inch springform cake tin with  parchment paper and lightly  sides with butter.

-Preheat oven to 350°F.

-Beat the butter and sugar until whipped.

-Mix the almonds, polenta and baking powder, and beat some of this into the butter-sugar mixture.

- add1 egg, then alternate combining dry ingredients and eggs, beating throughout.

-finally, beat in the zest.

-spoon the mixture into the pan and bake for 40 minutes.

-when the edges have begun to shrink away from the sides and a cake tester comes out mostly clean, the cake is done.

-Cool in the tin on a wire rack.

-Make the syrup by boiling together the juice and icing sugar in a small saucepan until the icing sugar has dissolved into the juice. 

-Prick the top of the cake all over with a toothpick and then pour the warm syrup over the cake.

- leave to cool before taking it out of its tin.

Enjoy!