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Orange -Glazed Polenta Cake

A lovely and simple orange polenta cake that is wonderful alone or served with ice-cream or whipped cream. You can make it with oranges or even grapefruit. The scent of it baking will bring the whole family to the kitchen.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: oranges, polenta
Author: Lora

Ingredients

CAKE

  • 2/3 cup plain yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1/2 cup sugar plus 3 Tbsp sugar
  • 2 large eggs separated and at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup orange juice plus another 1/4 cup for the glaze
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk
  • 2-3 small oranges sliced about 1/8 inch thick I used navel and blood oranges
  • zest of 1 orange

GLAZE

  • 1 cup confectioner's sugar
  • juice of one orange

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 F. Rinse and dry your oranges. Cut the ends off of the oranges and slice the rest of the oranges about 1/8 inch thick. Take out all the seeds.

ORANGES

  • Heat oven broiler. Arrange orange slices in an even layer on an foil-lined baking sheet fitted with a wire rack; sprinkle with 3 Tbsp. sugar. Broil, rotating pan as needed, until slightly caramelized, about 7 minutes; set aside.
  • In a small bowl, add the orange juice and coconut milk. In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and orange zest.
  • In another medium sized bowl, beat the egg whites until they are soft with fluffy peaks. Set aside the beaten egg whites.
  • In a clean bowl of a mixer, beat the sugar with the oil until combined (about 1 minute).
  • On medium speed, beat in the egg yolks one at a time until combined. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Add 1/2 of the orange juice/coconut milk and beat for about a minute. Add another 1/3 of the flour mixture. Stop the mixer and with a spatula, scrape down the sides of your pan to combine all the flour mixture. Add the rest of the orange juice/coconut milk and beat for about a minute. Add the rest of the flour mixture.
  • Stop the mixer and fold in the egg whites gently until combined and you don’t see any more white streaks.
  • Spoon the batter on top the caramelized orange mixture. Even out the top of the batter with a spatula. Bake about 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. While the cake is baking, prep the orange glaze.

GLAZE

  • In a small bowl combine the confectioner's sugar and add the orange juice. Combine until you have a spreadable mixture. Add more juice if needed to make it thinner or more confectioner's sugar to make it thicker.
  • After the cake has cooled for about 10 minutes, release it from the pan on your serving dish. When the cake has completely cooled, place the oranges on top and drizzle on the glaze.