Polenta, Hazelnut, Walnut and Mandarin Cake
Last month, I decided to host a birthday feast for a precious friend of mine. This is a rather novel occasion for a person such as myself as I do not usually have company and when I do so, my parties tend to be of an informal nature. But for this episode, I wanted to impress my dearly loved comrade- it was his birthday after all.
So the for the first installment, I decided upon homemade pumpkin and white truffle ravioli, served in a crystal clear beef consommé. Twice-cooked duck followed the first course. The fowl was first poached in a red wine stock, glazed with sugar and balsamic vinegar and roasted. The result was crispy bronzed duck, served with a red wine jus and cumin roasted carrots. Very chic. To close the palate, the main dish was followed by a cold, cannellini bean, coriander leaf and lemon salad. For dessert I created my own cake for the occasion. No cookbook formulas or recipes, just my imagination and personal performance. Uncomplicated and triumphant, it consisted of polenta, nuts and mandarin. The birthday cake was served with cointreau infused Crème Chantilly.
Now, you may be thinking “How remarkable!” The only problem is that by the time the guests had arrived I was ready to overdose on Valium, jump off my balcony, or simply run far, far away and never return (probably to a mental institution). I am not used to cooking for a crowd, only for two people. Or three at the most. And entertaining a stylish three course meal was just too much for my pretty little head.
The moral of the story is: I will never host a dinner party ever again in my life. Luckily, my sane and levelheaded partner saved the night, simply by throwing me out of my kitchen and taking control!
Once again, thank you for saving me, I love you Mike.
Ingredients
225g cultured unsalted butter
225g caster sugar
110g ground hazelnuts
110g ground walnuts
1 vanilla pod, seeds only
3 free range eggs, lightly beaten
Juice from ½ mandarin
Zest from 1 mandarin
115g yellow polenta
5g baking powder
pinch sea salt
Method
Remove the butter from the fridge and leave it at room temperature to soften.
Preheat the oven to 160C.
Cream the softened butter, sugar and vanilla seeds until fluffy.
Add the nuts and eggs in an alternating fashion.
Mix in the zest, juice, polenta, baking powder and sea salt.
Spoon the cake mixture into a paper lined, greased and floured round cake tin (1.3 litre capacity). I did not keep in mind the amount of time the cake took to set- I was performing other traumatic dinner party tasks at the same time. I am guessing it ought to take about 30 minutes to bake to an appealing golden brown.
Dust with icing sugar & serve with cointreau flavoured Crème Chantilly.
You should get about 4- 6 slices from this quantity. It all depends on how gluttonous you are!
PS. Happy Birthday Glenn.
