Let Her Eat Cake: Orange Blossom & Honey Polenta Cake

Polenta's great stuff: we love it here at DS for multiple uses - whether in cake, pizza or other savoury delights. The sunshiney-yellow colour always brightens our day and, seeing as polenta cake keeps well in a tin for quite some time, it can KEEP brightening your day until you've managed to scarf the lot.

This cake is summery and fragrant; orange blossom is marvellous for creating an exotic, Moroccan edge, whilst honey is the perfect flavour for a golden August haze (she says whilst staring at drizzle out the window).

Best of all, most polenta cakes are naturally gluten free, and this one is dairy free too! BOOM. So, on with the cakery.

Orange Blossom & Honey Polenta Cake

You will need:

For the cake:

• 200g dairy-free spread (I used soya spread)
• 200g golden caster sugar
• 150g polenta (fine cornmeal)
• 50g ground almonds (if you hate almonds, you can use 200g polenta instead!)
• 2 tsp baking powder (check to make sure it's gluten free)
• 3 large free-range eggs
• 2 tsp orange blossom extract
• 1 tbsp honey
• Juice and zest of 1 orange

For the syrup:

• Juice and zest of 1 orange
• 1-2 tbsp icing sugar
• 2 tsp orange blossom extract

Make it!

The cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 165C/325F/Gas Mark 3. Grease and line a 20cm baking tin. (Just grease it if you're using a silicone one). 
2. Cream together the dairy-free spread and the sugar until light and fluffy. 
3. Measure the polenta, almonds (if using) and baking powder into a separate bowl. 
4. Beat the eggs in a jug, together with the orange blossom extract and honey. 
5. Add a third of the polenta mixture to the sugar mixture, along with a third of the eggs and stir gently to combine. Repeat twice more with the remaining ingredients. 
6. Stir in the orange zest and 2 tbsp of the juice. 
7. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, until the top is golden-brown and a skewer pushed into the middle comes out clean. 
8. Place on a wire-rack and leave to cool in the tin. 

The syrup:

1. Whilst the cake is cooking, put the remaining juice in a saucepan along with the icing sugar and orange blossom extract. (You may want to add more or less to taste).
2. Simmer over a low heat for 3-4 minutes until the liquid has reduced slightly.
3. Remove from the heat and set aside. 
4. Use a skewer to poke holes in the top of the cooling cake. Spoon the syrup over the top, making sure to cover the whole cake evenly. 
5. Decorate with zest from the second orange, and a drizzle of honey. (I put some jasmine flowers on mine as well, because I LIKE PRETTY).