Lemon, cardamom and buckwheat polenta cake

Yeah, that’s a mouthful I know but they are all crucial ingredients so I couldn’t really miss them out the title. I really loved the flavour and texture of the cake so I plan to experiment more with buckwheat. This recipe is based off Nigella’s lemon polenta cake but is very different from the original. It’s much more like a pound cake and has a wonderful texture.

I decided to forgo the lemon syrup in favour of a much simpler cake, however if you felt like you wanted lemon syrup on yours it would work just as well. Cardamom is lemon’s friend. I didn’t realise how well the two would go, which makes me feel like a bit of a flavour dunce but they go so well together. I served mine up with mascarpone cheese on the side, the creaminess of the cheese was lovely with the lemon and cardamom.

Lemon, Cardamom and Buckwheat Polenta Cake
(adapted from Nigella Lawson)
 
200g unsalted butter, softened
200g caster sugar
200g buckwheat flour
100g polenta/fine cornmeal
1½ teaspoons baking powder
3 large eggs
zest of 2 lemons
mascarpone, to serve
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F. Grease and line a loaf tin.
  2. Mix the flour, polenta and baking powder together in a bowl and set aside. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
  3. Add a third of the flour mix and combine, followed by one egg, then add another third of the flour mix, alternating with the eggs until it’s all combined.
  4. Finally mix in the zest.
  5. Spoon the thick batter into the loaf tin and bake in the oven for 55 minutes. Cover with tin foil after 40 minutes to stop it catching in the oven.
  6. Leave to cool for 15 minutes before turning out, serve warm or cold with a big dollop of creamy mascarpone.

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