Orange Polenta Cake

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200g soft unsalted butter (plus extra for greasing)

200g caster sugar

200g ground almonds

100g fine polenta

1½tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

2 oranges (2 zested & 1 juiced)

1tbsp icing sugar

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Line the base of a 23cm loose based cake tin with baking parchment, then grease the sides with soft butter. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan160°C /Gas 4.

Beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl until pale and whipped, either by hand or using a freestanding mixer.

Separately mix together the almonds, polenta and baking powder in a bowl. Beat 1/3 of this into the butter-sugar mixture, followed by 1 egg, then alternate dry ingredients and eggs, beating all the while.

Finally, beat in the orange zest and spoon the mixture into your prepared tin. Bake on the middle shelf for about 40 minutes.

A cake tester should come out cleanish (might be a bit wobbly on top). Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its tin.

Now, make a syrup by boiling together the orange juice and icing sugar in a small saucepan for 5 minutes or once all of the icing sugar’s dissolved into the juice.

Prick the top of the cake all over with a cake tester or skewer and pour the warm syrup over the cake. Leave the cake to cool before taking it out of its tin and serving.

If you are serving this as a pudding I would add a dollop of crème fraîche, pomegranate seeds and flaked almonds to serve.

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Recipe inspired by Nigella Lawson