Buttery Polenta Cake with Almond Crunch and Cherries

By susanwadle

Here’s a cake that has a pleasantly light texture and a delicate crunch from the polenta which is made from finely ground cornmeal. Cherries in two forms—chopped in the cake, and halved in a chunky plating sauce–complete the early summertime ensemble. The cake itself follows classic sponge cake proportions—the weight of the eggs is equal to the weight of the flour and sugar combined, and a bit of melted unsalted butter has been added for further enrichment. But here the amount of flour has been reduced slightly to allow for the amount of the texture-altering polenta so the resulting total of the flour and polenta is equal to the weight of the sugar.

Ingredients

• Almond Crunch:
• 1-1/2 cups (approximately 6 ozs.) sliced almonds
• 3 ounces unsalted butter
• 1/3 c. (2.6 ozs) granulated sugar
• 3 T. honey (approximately 1.8 ozs.)
• 4 T. (2 ozs.) heavy cream
• Cake:
• 1 T. butter, melted, to brush on the bottom of the cake pan
• Scant 1/2 cup (approximately 2 ounces net) pitted fresh cherries, chopped into roughly 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 whole large eggs (approximately 6 oz.)
• Scant half cup (3.5 ozs.) granulated sugar
• Scant cup (3 ozs.) cake flour
• Generous tablespoon (approximately .6 oz.) fine grained polenta
• Pinch salt
• Generous 3 T. (1.8 ozs.) unsalted butter, melted
• 1 t. high quality vanilla extract
• Cherry Sauce:
• 2/3 c. (approximately 4 ounces) fresh pitted cherries (Bing, Rainer or other variety locally available), halved
• Generous 1/4 cup (2 ozs.) granulated sugar
• 1 t. cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. cold water
• Juice of 1/2 medium sized lemon

Preparation

Step 1

First make the following Almond Crunch and keep it warm over a water bath.



Place the almonds in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Place the butter, sugar, honey and cream in a small heavy saucepan. Bring to the boil and then pour the hot liquid over the almonds, stirring to coat the almonds evenly. Place the bowl over a hot water bath to keep the mixture warm. Depending on how much time it takes to finish the preparation of the cake, it may be necessary to reheat the water in the water bath to re-warm the Almond Crunch mixture so that it flows easily over the cake.

Then make the Buttery Polenta Cake as follows:



Lightly grease the bottom of an 8-inch round cake pan. Place a round of parchment in the bottom of the pan and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Set a rack in the oven halfway up from the bottom of the oven.

Pit and chop the cherries and set aside.

Heat a pot of water large enough to accommodate a 2 quart capacity-stainless steel bowl to just under the boil. (The water should not reach the bottom of the bowl.) Place the eggs and sugar into the bowl and whisk over simmering water until the mixture feels hot, about 100-110 degrees F. Then transfer this mixture to the bowl of an electric mixer outfitted with a whisk attachment. Beat at medium speed until the mixture has lightened in color and has tripled in volume. While the mixture is whipping, sift the flour, polenta and salt together into a bowl or onto a piece of parchment paper.

Using a wide spatula or your hand with the fingers outstretched, gently but thoroughly fold the dry ingredients into the beaten egg and sugar mixture. Then, without deflating the mixture, gently add the melted butter and vanilla, combined.

Scatter the cherries evenly over the bottom of the cake pan and then gently pour the cake batter over the cherries. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the cake springs back when gently touched in the middle top of the cake. At this point, remove the cake from the oven briefly and pour the warm Almond Crunch over the cake, tilting the cake pan so that the mixture spreads into an even layer. Return the cake to the oven for approximately 10 minutes more, or until the topping is bubbling and slightly golden. Remove the cake from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Store at room temperature.

Now make the following Cherry Sauce:



Place the cherries and sugar into a small heavy saucepan. Bring to the boil, stirring gently until the cherries soften slightly and the sugar has melted. Add the cornstarch mixture and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring and cooking just until thickened slightly. Stir in the lemon juice and set aside. (Refrigerate in a covered container if you wish to serve the cake more than three hours from the time the sauce is made.)

To serve:

Carefully run a thin sharp knife around the sides of the cake to release it from the pan. Invert and then turn back over so that the Almond Crunch side is up. Using a heavy sharp knife, slice the cake into 8 equal wedges. Place the slices of cake on serving plates and spoon the Cherry Sauce over the cake.