Lemon-Pistachio Polenta Cake with Lemon Icing
by Thom & Aimee
To be honest, there is a long list of entries lining up to be written. It doesn’t help that all I want to do these days is snug into bed and watch anime (damn you, Gintama and Shingeki no Kyogin) or tumblr stupid gifs. The procrastination bug has hit me real bad this time.
Back to business: the lemon-pistachio lemon cake is another homage to our trip to Great Britain, and one of our favourite chefs Yotam Ottolenghi. I remembered how knackered we were from all the walking and from the cold, that we decided to do a quick takeaway from one of Ottolenghi’s cafes. Being not unusually greedy, we bought more than our little tummies could handle.
One of the many dishes we brought away was a lemon polenta cake topped with icing and pistachio bits. At first bite, yotam’s cake was slightly stodgy and the icing was dry. We kept half of it for the next morning and strangely it tasted better. The flavour intensified and had more moisture than before. Nevertheless, the cake was gone at the end of the day.
Polenta is one ingredient we’ve not dealt with so far. The Italian cornmeal is usually used as a gluten-free substitute in cakes, which will result in bakes that are moist and dense with a grainy texture. I’m not trying to be biased here, but Ned’s polenta cake turned out better than Yotam’s (blasphemy!!). It had the right amount of tanginess of the fruit and sugary sweetness of the lemon icing. Unlike what we had in London, the cake had good consistency in moisture and texture. It’s a dessert Gin-san would approve. (Good job, Shinpachi.)
Lemon-Pistachio Polenta Cake with Lemon Icing
Adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi
Makes a 20cm x 9cm x 7cm cake
150g unsalted butter
105g caster sugar
2 free-range eggs, lightly beaten
Zest of 1 lemon
6 teaspoon lemon juice
90g quick-cook polenta
180g ground pistachios
38g plain flour
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoons salt
For the Glaze
Juice of 1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons caster sugar
For the Lemon Icing
Juice of ½ a lemon
150 g icing sugar
Pistachios, chopped
Directions
Pre-heat your oven to 170C. Cream the butter and sugar together, making sure to not add in too much air. Add each egg one at a time and mix to incorporate. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice, polenta and pistachio. Sift your dry ingredients into the mix as well and stir together until just combined. Pour the batter into your cake tin, and level with a knife. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Leave to cool for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven to a wire cooling rack, but leave in its tin.
Make the syrup by boiling together the lemon juice and sugar in a smallish saucepan. Once the sugar’s dissolved into the juice, you’re done. Prick the top of the cake all over with a cake tester (a skewer would be too destructive), pour the warm syrup over the cake, and leave to cool before taking it out of its tin.
For the lemon icing, combine lemon juice and icing sugar until smooth and white, add a little more icing sugar if needed. Make sure your cake is completely cool before drizzling with the glaze. Sprinkle with chopped pistachios.
I’m about to try your recipe! I’m excited. The only thing is that it seems that it should be 380gr of plain flour and not 38gr… Could you please confirm? Thanks so much!
It is 38g of plain flour! Not 380g as it is mainly a polenta cake.
Hi, so happy to find this recipe here ! Just came back from London and the taste of this cake still with me. I think that Yotam uses some cardamom in the icing , do you know anything about it ???
I’m not sure if he does. But you can add it in and try it for yourself. Do tell us the result!
[…] Lemon Pistachio Polenta cake (Yotam Ottolenghi recipe) […]
This cake looks wonderful! I’ll need to convert it to US measure, but I look forward to making it!
[…] bought it somewhere pricey like Ottolenghi. This colleague clearly has a discerning palette as the original recipe is indeed adapted from Ottolenghi. The cake is pleasingly sharp, dense and buttery. The polenta […]
[…] Lemon-Polenta Pistachio Cake with Lemon Icing […]
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[…] Lemon-Pistachio Polenta Cake with Lemon Icing […]
I’d like to make this but would like to keep it gluten free. Can I use gluten free plain flour?
I can’t guarantee the same results but do try it and see how it works out! I’m pretty sure it’ll turn out fine since the flour is a small percentage of the whole recipe. Tell us how it goes! Xx
I have made this cake 4 times now – everybody loves it
Thank you so much for telling us! We’re really glad that people love it as much as we do. Send us a picture next time!
[…] SOURCE: thomandaimee.wordpress.com […]
Hi, this looks delicious, thanks for sharing. Quick question – do you have to prepare the polenta or do you just add it dry to the mix?
Thanks!
You’re welcome! Just add it dry to the mix. Do tell us how it turns out!
Reblogged this on Get Baked With Meg! and commented:
Wow, what a lovely recipe… I can’t wait to try this gorgeous cake! ☺
Hi! I was actually just at ottolenghis? A couple of days ago! Being in London and just walking around looking for somewhere to have a little break, we stumbled upon a window display of beautiful cakes and pastries! Me, being the Lemon and pistachio lover I am naturally decided on the lemon and pistachio cake. Boi was I Happy! The cake was superb! The nice crunch from the pistachio and the Sweet But tangy Lemon icing, I knew I had to make it at home! A quick Search om Pinterest led me here! So Thank you for that! Ill now have to fly back home to norway and make this cake!
Love from Anna (17)
Tell us how the baking goes!
What do you mean quick cook polenta do you cook it. How do you cook it.
Thanks for sharing the receipe
What is the conversion
I am in USA and don’t know how to convert all the grams
[…] recept från Thom & Aimee samt Yotam […]