Grapefruit, Hazelnut and Polenta Cake

These precious days between Christmas Day and the New Year make up my favourite week of the year. After the excitement of advent and ensuing celebrations, the calm, quiet time that follows is unbelievable special. To me, it really does feel like the only time that everyone switches off, beds in and takes stock ahead as the year in question drawers to a close. I find myself looking forward to those days in between almost as much as I look forward to Christmas itself. 

After so much indulgence, a cake of a slightly more wholesome persuasion can be just the ticket. This little loaf is the perfect project to while away a cosy afternoon this week. Rich with hazelnut, polenta and grapefruit, it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest cake for breakfast too. 

THE INGREDIENTS

1 grapefruit

175g unsalted butter

175g golden caster sugar

3 eggs

60g plain flour

60g ground hazelnuts

60g fine polenta

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

300ml double cream

Toasted hazelnuts, optional

THE RECIPE

For the cake, begin with the grapefruit. Run the fruit under hot water to remove any wax coating, then place in a saucepan. Cover with water so that the grapefruit is submerged. Boil for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until the fruit is completely soft and a knife sinks through the peel with no resistance.

Remove the grapefruit from the water and set aside to cool. Slice in half, remove any pips, then blitz (peel and all!) in a food processor until pureed. Set aside. 

Heat the oven to 170°C and line a loaf tin with baking parchment. Grease the sides of the tin lightly with butter.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Adds the eggs, mixing after each addition. Add half of the grapefruit puree (discarding the second half) and fold into the mixture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, ground hazelnuts, polenta, baking powder and salt. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet, then pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Place this in the centre of the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until the surface of the cake is a deep caramel colour, and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely.

When you are ready to serve the cake, whip the cream into soft peaks, and spoon over the top. Sprinkle with toasted hazelnuts and top with dehydrated grapefruit slices to decorate.

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CHERRY POLENTA COBBLER

Call me crazy, but this year I am ready for summer to be over. While the long evenings will be sorely missed, I felt much less sadness than usual packing away my shorts and sandals for another year.

American film plots always seem to resolve 'come Fall', and it's true that there's something truly comforting about the routine that Autumn brings. Rutland, my home county, is never more gorgeous than in the golden days of Autumn, and I'm yet to tire of crisp and bright London mornings. The grey bitterness of November arrives just in time to save me the embarrassment of singing "Autumn days" on my commute.

I barely need add that Autumn also brings with it a delightful justification to reintroduce stodgy home puddings into the fold. Bikini season is over, and I for one am already joyfully donning an elasticated waistband in anticipation of how many proper puddings I will be eating.

First up, a recipe to make the most of the last of the summer's cherries. 2015 was a fantastic year for cherries, and they are the perfect way to send summer off in style.

My recipe uses polenta to make the pud 100% {gluten free}, but you could easily top the fruit with regular wheat-flour dumplings or crumble. This would also be great with plums, apples, blackberries and pears, which are all coming into season this month.

What do you like to cook with in Autumn? 

 THE INGREDIENTS 

250g cherries

juice and zest of 1 lemon

50g caster sugar

1 tbsp kirsch (optional)

100g polenta

200ml water

pinch salt

25g brown sugar

25g butter

Preheat your oven to 180C. Stone the cherries, then mix with the caster sugar, lemon juice, zest and kirsch and leave to marinade.

To make the polenta topping, put the polenta in a small pan with the water, salt and brown sugar. Cook for 10-15 minutes, stirring, until the mixture is thick and grainy. Add the butter, mix through, and leave to cool for an hour.

Use your hands to form the polenta mixture into balls, and place on top of the cherries in an ovenproof dish. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the dumplings are golden. 

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OLIVE OIL POLENTA CAKE WITH PEACHES {DAIRY AND GLUTEN FREE}

A belated Happy Easter! I hope you were all able to enjoy the sunny long weekend. The weather is divine and it really does feel like Spring has finally sprung.

Easter often gets overlooked as a holiday in the UK, with children preoccupied by the chocolate, and adults (myself included) enjoying the double bank holiday. Fear not, I'm not about to launch into an attack on modern values - that would be very hypocritical from the girl eating a white chocolate egg as she types.

Rather, it seems a shame that the familial, season celebrations that this holiday used to encompass seem to have been forgotten. Easter marks the end of winter, new life and a certain circularity which isn't captured by other traditional celebrations. If nothing else, Easter should be an opportunity to rest up, take stock and spend time with the people you love.

Now, enough of the sentimentality. This recipe is perfect for those of us who, just maybe, overdid it a little of the sweet stuff this weekend. A health tonic it is not, but this cake is gluten and dairy free, and can be whipped up in less than an hour. Peaches, while not strictly in season just yet, are one of my favourite foods and work perfectly with the sweet, gooey centre of the cake. Any baked fruit would do - plumbs, pears and apricots all work beautifully too.

  THE INGREDIENTS

100ml olive oil

75g caster sugar

125g ground almonds

75g polenta 

1 tsp baking powder (use gluten free if needed)

2 eggs

1 lemon, zested

peaches

2-3 peaches

honey

salt

THE RECIPE

Begin with the peaches. Preheat your oven to 180C, then slice the peaches into 8 pieces each. Arrange in a dish that is lightly greased with oil, and drizzle with honey and a sprinkling of salt. Bake until soft - this will be around 30 minutes, depending on how ripe your fruit is.

For the cake, line a 7" tin with baking parchment, and lightly oil the sides. Mix together the oil and sugar until the mixture is foamy and pale. Beat in the eggs.

Separately, combine the ground almonds, polenta, baking powder and lemon zest. Add this to the oil mixture, and beat until well-mixed and pale. Pour into your prepared tin, and bake for 25-30 minutes at the same temperature as the peaches. The cake is done when it has the slightest of wobbles in the middle when shaken, and has a pale crust on the top.

Remove from the oven and cool in the tin for ten minutes, before carefully transferring to a wire rake. Serve the cake warm or cold piled high with peaches, and with some crème fraiche (or dairy-free alternative) if desired. 

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CORNBREAD

I am a real sucker for the January blues. It feels hard to be cheerful when it's cold, dark and Christmas is packed up for another year. Returning to the city after a few weeks away from my London life, I was surprised to feel something I haven't felt since I was thirteen and waving my parents off at boarding school - homesick.

I'm still quite new to the 'responsible adult' she-bang, and two weeks in the clutches of Mum's cooking, Radio 4 and zero emails was just enough to remind me of, dare I say it, a simpler time. Perhaps two weeks really was enough to begin my (inevitable) transformation into my mother.

Baking since I've been back in London has been the perfect distraction from the January blues. As soon as I'm in my kitchen, I feel back in touch with home, and totally wrapped up from anything I've been worrying about. If I haven't succeeded in coercing you to roll up your sleeves just yet, now might just be the perfect time to try something new.

This Cornbread is, deceptively, not a bread at all - you won't find any yeast or gluten here. It's quick, easy and the perfect first loaf for all you bread-virgins out there. It's gluten free too, and seeped in a deep south Americana which is thoroughly good for the soul.

 THE INGREDIENTS

200g polenta (cornmeal)

300ml buttermilk

30g butter

30g dark brown sugar

10g salt

1.5 tsp baking powder

2 free range eggs

THE RECIPE

In a frying pan, toast the polenta until just browning and it smells buttery. Remove from the heat and combine with the buttermilk. Leave this to soak for an hour or so if you have time.

Preheat your oven to 220C. Mix the sugar, salt, baking powder and eggs into the polenta and buttermilk mixture. In a 20cm frying pan, melt the butter on a high heat until it is beginning to brown. Pour into the mixture, and beat quickly. Next, return the pan to the heat, and pour in all of the bread mixture. Allow to sizzle for a minute or so, then move to the preheated oven. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden and risen. 

Slice up and serve warm with chilli con carne, hot spicy soup, or just salted butter and honey. 

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