© David Loftus
bolognese polenta and apple cake
method
This is a superb moist cake, a bit like a clafoutis in France, but by adding breadcrumbs and using polenta it becomes very much like an Italian bread and butter pudding. Its something that Italians would cook in the embers of the fire after dinner.
Preheat the oven to 180ΊC/350ΊF/gas 4 and butter a shallow 28cm loose-bottomed cake tin. Mix the polenta, flour, breadcrumbs and sugar in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the milk, eggs, honey and olive oil. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, making sure you stir it all together well. Add the figs, raisins, apples, cinnamon, orange and lemon zest and salt, and stir again.
Pour the mixture into your cake tin and bake for about 50 minutes. Keep an eye on it you may need to cover it with some foil if you find that it starts to brown too much at the edges. Before serving, sprinkle over some caster sugar. Then make sure you eat it warm lovely with a dollop of crθme fraξche and a glass of vin santo!
from Jamie's Italy
serves: Serves 8
ingredients
a knob of butter
100g polenta
200g plain flour, sifted
100g stale breadcrumbs
100g caster sugar, plus extra for dusting
500ml full-fat milk
3 large free-range eggs, preferably organic, beaten
100g runny honey
55ml olive oil
100g dried figs, chopped or torn up
100g raisins or sultanas
500g firm eating apples, peeled, cored and roughly diced
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
zest of 2 oranges
zest of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon salt