Rose and Plum Polenta Cake

You will need:-

300g of butter

300g of caster sugar

4 eggs

140g of polenta

200g of plain flour

2tsp of baking powder

1/2tsp of rose water

50g of butter

3 or 4 plums

Preheat the oven at 160C. Cream together 50g of butter and 50g of caster sugar, use this to line a deep cake tin, thickly lining the bottom and sides of the tin. Slice the plums in half, then half again two more times until you get thin moon shaped slices, organising them in the base of the tin starting from the inside out; this will give a rose pattern in the top of the cake.

In a large glass bowl, cream together 250g of butter and 250g of caster sugar, once these are completely mixed together, use an electric whisk to mix in each egg one at a time. After all the eggs have been added, mix in 140g of polenta, 200g of plain flour, 2tsp of baking powder and 1/2tsp of rose water.

Pour a small amount of the mixture over the plums in the cake tin, gently spread it over the plums using a spatula, this should help prevent the plum slices displacing when pouring in the rest of the mixture. Even the mixture off with a spatula and place in the oven. Bake for 45mins to an hour, until the cake is firm and a cocktail stick comes out of the centre of the cake clean.

Leave this to cool completely before removing it from the tin.

Tip: You could add red food colouring paste to the cake mix when adding the dry ingredients to give the cake a pink colour when cut.

Also, don't be worried in the cake sinks slightly in the middle after cooling, this can happen when incorporating gluten free flours (like polenta) into cakes.

Enjoy! x