Berry, Polenta and Orange Cake
Photography Aaron McLean.
This moreish loaf cake recipe is made using polenta and ground almonds to add a subtle nuttiness. The addition of orange and frozen berries ensures the bake stays moist.
Serves: 8–10
INGREDIENTS
Cake
½ cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
¾ cup caster sugar
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
11/3 cups plain flour
2/3 cup ground almonds
2/3 cup instant polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
pinch of salt
2 cups mixed frozen berries
Topping
juice of 1 orange
1/3 cup caster sugar
To serve
thick plain yoghurt or mascarpone
4 cup capacity loaf tin, greased and base and sides lined with baking paper
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 150˚C
Beat the oil, eggs, caster sugar and the orange zest and juice together for 5 minutes. Combine the flour, almonds, polenta, baking powder and salt.
Using a large metal spoon, fold in the dry ingredients, ensuring there are no pockets of flour in the batter. Pour half the mixture into the loaf tin then scatter over half the frozen berries. Top with the remaining batter and then the berries. Bake for 65-70 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out with a few damp crumbs attached.
Topping: Stir the orange juice and sugar together, then while the cake is still hot, spoon it evenly over the top. It will set into a lovely crisp sugary topping when the cake is cold.
To serve: Lift the cake out of the tin and peel off the baking paper. Cut the cake into thick slices and top with a spoonful of yoghurt or mascarpone.
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In Dream Escape, we journey from Japan and Morocco to Italy, India and beyond, sharing recipes inspired by travel, heritage and comfort. We celebrate the champions of the Outstanding Food Producer Awards, explore the stories and recipes of chefs shaped by their cultural roots, and warm up with everything from West African soups and slow-braised lamb to porchetta, butter chicken and beef noodle soup. Alongside destination menus, Scandinavian sweets and cosy pub classics, Chrisanne Terblanche shares her favourite street-side dining spots in Bangkok, while Yvonne Lorkin explores red wine varietals. This issue, we invite you to slow down, turn the pages and escape through food.







