A taste of sunshine with this blood orange polenta cake

One of the first cakes I learned to make as a chef was a polenta cake, which is both gluten free and full of citrus. Polenta is a common ingredient in Italian cooking and is essentially a coarse cornmeal. It can be prepared several ways – served soft and buttery as a wonderful alternative to mashed potato, or set and cut into fingers before being grilled or dusted in semolina and fried. Used in cakes, however, it gives a gorgeous crumbliness and moistness, and adds character unlike flour-based sponge cakes.

The first time I made polenta cake it was flavoured with orange, and was gentle in flavour but sweet and slightly sharp at the same time. It was unusual in its method, or so I thought at the time, but the process is in fact well known in cake-land.

The oranges are boiled whole, cooled and then pureed, flesh and all. The result is a thick, soft orange puree, with a depth of flavour that you wouldn’t achieve from solely using juice or zest. Over the years I have toyed with variations, using all types of citrus, but this week’s recipe is my favourite.

Blood oranges are a beautiful ingredient but have a short season, so get them at their best now and use them in this cake. This cake will work just as well with similar quantities of other citrus like lemon or orange, and can be made throughout the year. But there is something magnificent about blood oranges and their spiked ruby red flesh. They impart such a bright flavour and inject a dose of sunshine that helps beat those January blues.

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Fresh flavour

The boiling part is a simple process, albeit a slightly lengthy one. The whole oranges are submerged in water and simmered gently for about two hours, or until completely soft. They need to then cool completely, before being blitzed to a silky-smooth puree. I cut them in half and remove the pips before blending. I also add a little fresh orange zest and juice to this to add a fresh flavour, and you can use either blood oranges or regular oranges at this stage.

The puree is added to whisked egg and sugar, and olive oil, to give a wonderful fruity base note. Using olive oil makes the cake dairy free. The wet ingredients are simply mixed with the dry, that is a blend of polenta, ground almonds and baking powder, before being piled into a springform tin and baked for 45 minutes. Use gluten-free baking powder to make this cake gluten free.

I am partial to a little glaze on top; blood orange juice mixed with honey creates a gorgeous sticky drizzle. This is a gorgeous cake and a great way to champion beautiful seasonal blood oranges.

Recipe: Blood orange olive oil polenta cake