Ingredients:
• For the polenta cake:
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup – granulated Sugar
• 1 tsp – zest of orange, freshly grated (optional)
• 1 no – zest of lemon, freshly grated (optional)
• 1.5 cups – unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup – regular polenta (soaked in 2 cups of milk)
• 2 tsp – baking powder
• 1 tsp – salt
• 3/4 cup – extra-virgin Olive oil
• Confectioner`s Sugar for garnish
• Cream cheese filling for layering:
• 350 gms – Cream cheese
• 100 gms – Confectioner`s sugar, little cocoa powder (optional)
• 1 – zest of a Lemon
• spaghetti (fried) for garnishing
• For the Beetroot compote:
• 1 cup – beetroot, boiled, peeled, diced1 cup – castor Sugar
• 1 tbsp – fresh Basil leaves
• 2 – anise seeds
• 3 tbsp – rum (optional)
• 3 gms – Gelatine (dissolved in water)
• 1/4 cup – water
Method:
- For the polenta cake:
- Pre-heat oven to 350 deg C and position a rack in the centre of the oven.
- Lightly grease a 9-inch spring form pan with butter.
- Add eggs and sugar in a bowl.
- Whisk them at medium speed until they are tripled in volume, fluffy, pale and yellow in colour.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, polenta, baking powder, zest of orange and lemon (optional) and salt.
- Begin with beating the dry ingredients and then add one-third of the oil and egg mixture.
- Beat and repeat again twice. Beat well.
- Stop beating the mixture and briefly scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for 25-30 mins.
- Rotate the cake 180 deg C halfway through the baking time.
- The cake is done when it springs back lightly when touched and pulls away from the sides of the pan, and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Cool the cake on a rack, in the pan.
- Remove the sides of the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.
- For the cheese filling:
- Beat the cream cheese with sugar and zest of lemon.
- Don`t over-beat.
- Line the sponge and top it with cream cheese mixture and fried spaghetti for garnish.
- Sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired.
- For the beetroot and basil compote:
- Add sugar in a hard bottom pan and caramelize till it is light yellow in colour, using the water.
- Add anise seeds, rum and gelatine (dissolved in water).
- Add the beetroot and basil leaves and simmer. Don`t mash.
- Use as desired.
- Serve with the above olive oil and polenta cake.