September 13, 2012
I found this cake recipe in The Beekeeper’s Bible — it’s a little different and completely delicious. You can have it for breakfast, tea or dessert; I even had a slice for lunch the other day. It calls for almond flour and cornmeal, which is great since I’m always on the hunt for good gluten-free recipes to add to my baking repertoire.
This cake is also super moist, flavorful, and the honey adds just the right touch of sweetness. I served a wedge with a dollop of plain Greek yogurt, and it was pretty much perfection on a plate. Almond flour can be a little pricey, but Santa Barbara recently welcomed a Fresh and Easy, and they seem to have the best value. So, to sum it all up: make this cake, eat this cake, make this cake again.
I strained the honey over the cake and let it cool.
Adapted from The Beekeeper’s Bible
Makes 1 (8-inch) round cake
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
¾ superfine sugar, preferably unrefined
3 tablespoons honey, plus 3 more tablespoons for glaze
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cups fine polenta
2 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 sprigs fresh thyme (for glaze)
To serve:
Fresh thyme sprigs
Greek yogurt or crème fraiche
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use butter to grease an 8-inch round spring-form cake pan.
In a large bowl, beat the butter with the superfine sugar until light and fluffy. Add the honey, lemon juice and beat again until pale. Mix the eggs in one at a time.
Mix the polenta with the almond flour, baking powder and salt, then add a large tablespoon of this mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat well.
Continue to whisk in the dry ingredients blending until you have a thick batter. Spoon this into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
Bake for 30 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 20 minutes longer, or until the cake is golden and risen and a metal skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover the cake with parchment paper toward the end of baking if it is browning too much. Remove from the oven.
Heat 3 tablespoons of honey with the thyme sprigs in a small saucepan over low heat until the honey begins to thin.
Place the warm cake, still in its pan on a wire rack and, using a thin metal skewer, make holes in the top. Strain the warm honey and thyme syrup over the cake so that it soaks into the cake. Let the cake and honey cool to room temperature. Garnish with thyme sprigs and serve with Greek yogurt or crème fraiche.
