Honey polenta cake

So this was a tagalong challenge. The theme was #eattheworld- if you are on Pinterest I’m starting to put links for all the amazing tagalong creations on there. Follow me just here!

I love this cake as there is 0 sugar in the batter. The sweetness comes from a honey and orange glaze. I originally got the idea from Tomal from the GBBO so I think it’s only right to mention his recipe (He puts honey in the batter and uses grapefruit). This is a more kid friendly version with less sweetener.

A couple of honey points before we begin. Honey isn’t ‘refined’ sugar. But it is still very sweet, high in calories and bad for your teeth. It has lots of redeeming features compared to refined white sugar; good quality honey contains antioxidants and it is far less processed. But it is still a treat. This is why using oranges to add some more sweetness works really well.

Also, this is more of a toddler treat as there is a rule of no honey for under 1’s. If you were making this for a party and knew you had tiny ones who might want in on the action, I’d suggest subbing for maple syrup with the same sweet health warning.

This honey was given to us by my brother in law who is off travelling the globe. It is STUNNING! 

And yes. Mummy has eaten it from a spoon. I knew I would use it for something special so that’s where this cake came from.

Recipe

200g butter

70g plain flour (you could use GF flour here to make this gluten free)

70g polenta flour

140g ground almonds

1tsp baking powder

2 large eggs

2 oranges

1 lemon juice only

3 generous tbsps honey.

Method

Set your oven to 170°c fan.

Put your dry ingredients in a bowl along with the zest of one orange and lemon.

Add in your softened butter and eggs and mix well. It will feel odd because there is no sweetness in there. Remember you are adding it later!

I used a square, silicone pan for mine but round is fine.You want something about 20cm (8″).

Bake for around 30 minutes. The texture will be somewhat crumblier than your usual sponge. That’s the polenta. It will be fine once you add the lovely liquid.

Now, take your Oranges and lemons, slice them, add lemon juice and your honey and heat it until it bubbles (5 minutes). Taste it -if it’s too tart then add more honey. It really depends on the sweetness of your oranges!

Make lots of little holes in your cake with a fork or skewer. Drizzle your juice and honey mix evenly and leave to cool.

You could serve this with more honey glaze, with yoghurt or with a dollop of cream.

I had my slice in the garden, with a cold elderflower fizz…which may or may not have also contained gin. The little guy loved this (his slice was much smaller…) and I took the rest to work (alongside some full sugar brownies) where it also went down a storm and nobody detected there was less sugar. From Mama to Mama – give this a go. It is a lovely summery cake that maybe has a bit less guilt than shop bought.

Hope you enjoy! Share, tweet, bake and tag me!!!
Faye xx