I spied this recipe in Moro The Cookbook by Sam and Sam Clark. The focus of the cookbook is Spanish and Muslim Mediterranean food, or food of the Moors. They describe this cake perfectly – moist and a little crumbly. The cake is also gluten free as long as you use gluten free baking powder.
Preheat your oven to 160ºC (325ºF) and line a 23cm (9″) spring-form cake tin. Measure out 175g (6 oz) each of walnuts and blanched whole almonds. Crush them, either by hand or machine, until you have a mixture of small and very small pieces – some of it should be as fine as walnut or almond meal. Now beat 230g (8 oz) of butter and 230g (8 oz) of caster sugar until light and pale in colour. Stir in the crushed walnuts and almonds then add 3 large eggs, one at a time. Add 160g (5⅔ oz) of polenta, 1 teaspoon of baking powder, the finely grated zest of 1½ lemons, the juice of 2 large lemons and 3-4 tablespoons of ground cardamom. Mix well to combine and spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Place the tin onto a baking sheet and bake for approximately 1½ hours until golden brown and just set in the centre. Don’t be tempted to cook this cake for a shorter amount of time in a hotter oven as the polenta will not have time to cook. Cool in the tin before removing to a serving plate. Dust with icing sugar to serve.
michelle picker cooks 