US
fruit
1
bolognese polenta and apple cake
© David Loftus

bolognese polenta and apple cake

servings
Serves 8
printBtn convertBtn

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. It’s something that Italians would cook in the embers of the fire after dinner.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF/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 crème fraîche and a glass of vin santo!


• from Jamie's Italy

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

share this page

tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...
1. by James on Sun 26 Jun 2011 @ 20:39

A delicious cake. Being a big fan of bread and butter puddings and fruit cakes i thought i would give this a try. I have previously made this Bustrengo recipe a few times to what i and a party thought was perfect. Recently, for the first time I actually went against the ingredients because i had a lack of fruit. <br /> Wet mixture and dry was mixture was exactly the same. Different polenta. <br /> I cooked it for 55mins at 180 (5mins more than required). <br /> So 11:45pm i thought 'perfect, but could that be cooked for a bit longer'.<br /> It was much looser this time, a bit hesitant when placed a on a plate. <br /> OMG, along the lines of a fantastic bread and butter pudding (no cutlery needed :s easy to pick up)<br /> <br /> <br />

2. by Aurélie on Tue 19 Apr 2011 @ 21:14

What a shame!! The french edition of your book is so badly translated. I wasted all the good ingredients of this recipe because it was written to use 55cl of olive oil instead of 55ml!!!!!! What does this mean? Do I have to check on the internet every recipe of your book in order to be sure to make them eatable?

3. by elaine on Sun 28 Jun 2009 @ 16:06

amazing... it is very similar to what we call in Malta pudina. very yummy

4. by grandadgardener on Wed 11 Feb 2009 @ 14:39

What can I add to boiled POLENTA to make it more tasty....Thanks Girls

5. by Michelle on Sat 26 Jul 2008 @ 15:08

Actually, this dessert is from San Marino.

All the best,

Michelle
aka Baroness Tapuzina
baronesstapuzina.wordpress.com

6. by Jean on Tue 22 Jul 2008 @ 09:42

For KAREN SEXTON -

Jamie's recipe for Dried Fruitgums from his book "Happy Days with the Naked Chef"

A few of my friends feed their kids really nice dried apricots, plums, peaches, pineapple and apple as a treat instead of giving them boiled sugar sweets. Surprisingly, the kids absolutely love them. I actually think that a little paper bag of dried fruit is quite cool, but my friends fool their bambinies by cutting the fruit into shapes to look more like sweets.

When I cook these 'fruitgums' I normally do about 500gr or a kilo / 1 -2 lbs of dried fruit at a time. You can do simple types of fruit, or combos like mango and pineapple or peach and apricot. I simply whiz the dried fruit down to a very smooth puree in a food processor, then scoop it out on to some greased greaseproof paper. Using a palette knife, spread it out into a square, about 0.5cm / 1/4 inch thick, then slide it on to a baking tray. I normally heat the fruit puree in the electric oven at 70C/150F overnight, which is very convenient for me, or, if you're in a rush, heat it at 160C/300F/gas 2 for a couple of hours - the cooking time really depends on how moist the fruit was to start with.

When it's done, your layer of fruit should be soft but firm, a little bit like a winegum. Remove it from the oven to a chopping board, peel off the greaseproof paper and slice the fruit into small bite-sixed pieces. Make a variety of shapes - squares, triangles, circles, strips. These can be kept in an airtight jar until you need them. It's lovely to wrap them in little paper bags and put them in your kids' lunch-boxes. They'll love em.

7. by Pat Hill on Fri 27 Jun 2008 @ 13:25

Where do I buy Polenta (cornmeal), I have a recipe for American Pancakes, which I would like to make, but non of the Supermarkets or Health Shops sell Palenta or Cornmeal.

Pat

8. by Maja on Sun 22 Jun 2008 @ 20:43

Polenta/palenta is used in many cuisines, so I'm having a hard time to imagine that in Bologna there is not even one (typical) dish with polenta. Anyhow.... the recipe is wonderful. The cake is very tasty, I loooooove the figs and apples, and it's quite easy to make. Thanks a lot Jamie!

9. by Marie Cregeen on Mon 09 Jun 2008 @ 13:07

I'm making something that needs Polenta and while l have looked this up on the internet l wonder what others think of it as an alternative to pasta or potatoes. I can't say the photos of plates containing Polenta appeal to me. Any advice?

10. by Marieta on Fri 06 Jun 2008 @ 12:57

Hi Jamie,

I'm looking for a easy carrotcake topping?
Thanks
Marieta

11. by ela g on Tue 03 Jun 2008 @ 14:52

manuela is right. polenta its a romanian traditional dish.

12. by karen sexton on Tue 03 Jun 2008 @ 13:57

I'm trying to find a receipe for some fruit gums made from dried fruit, I'm sure it was a Jamie creation.

if it exists can you let me know

Thanks

13. by HeHeMwah on Mon 02 Jun 2008 @ 16:26

Please can you put a childrens fun biscuit recipe on the site or even a kids cooking page !
Thanks Jamie

14. by mishy on Mon 02 Jun 2008 @ 11:46

hi there my little girl is 13 and is mad about your cooking she has been woching you for a long time now and she would love to be a cook she keeps going on about her school dinners she is in belfairs school in ligh on sea essex but the food isnt nice thay have a lot of fatty food and she is trying to lose wait as all her frends call her ob but she said the
food even smells bad thank you so much for taking the time to read this it will mean a hole lot to her

leave comments
related recipes
1-minute berry ice cream
In advance: Put 4 small glasses in the freezer, or you can serve straight into ice cream cornets, if...
Read more
pannacotta with roasted rhubarb
Put the milk, vanilla pods, vanilla seeds, lemon zest and half the cream into a small pan and slowly...
Read more

latest members recipes
Cheese and Crackers
Added by beedee22
Fri 25 May 2012 @ 15:27
Olive Oil Bread
Added by Chef Fabrizio
Thu 24 May 2012 @ 05:27
Mozzarella and Basil Bread
Added by Chef Fabrizio
Thu 24 May 2012 @ 05:22
Tangy Tamarind Tiger Prawns
Added by Mango Ginger
Wed 23 May 2012 @ 08:47
Facebook
more categories