Almond & Polenta Torte
This is equally good at breakfast, for lunch, afternoon with tea, or after dinner. Rich almond flavors, moist with just a hint of a crunch from the polenta, and not too sweet. Great served with lightly sweetened whipped cream that has been infused with fresh basil.
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cup Granulated Sugar (245g)
- 1 cup Almond Paste (198g)
- 1/2 cup Unsalted Butter (114g)
- 3 floz Extra Virgin Olive Oil (83g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract (4.2g)
- 1 tsp Orange Extract (4.2g)
- 1 tsp Almond Extract (4.2g)
- 4 Large Eggs
- 1/4 cup Polenta (34g)
- 1 tbsp Orange Zest (6g)
- 2 tsp Lemon Zest (2g)
- 1/2 cup Finely Ground and Toasted Almonds (51g)
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour (120g)
- 2 tsp Baking Powder (8g)
- 1/4 tsp Salt (1.4g)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° degrees for standard bake and 325° degrees for convection. Line the bottom of a 9" springform (removable bottom) pan with parchment paper and butter the sides. Chop the almond paste into small pieces (about the size of a hazelnut).Bring the eggs and butter to room temperature prior to use.
- Best to use a standing or hand held electric mixer. Combine and mix the sugar, almond paste, butter, olive oil, vanilla and extracts until the almond paste is almost completely incorporated and the mixture is quite smooth. There will be a few bits of the paste that won't smooth out, and that's OK. Add the eggs, one at a time, blending each before adding the next.
- In a separate bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients, and include the orange and lemon zests. With the mixer set to medium speed, add the dry ingredients. Beat for 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer, and using a spatula scrape the sides and bottom. Turn the mixer back on to high speed and mix for an additional 1 minute.
- Pour the batter in to your springform pan. Place on the center rack of your oven and bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until the cake is a golden brown and has pulled away slightly from the rim of the pan. Place on a cooling rack, wait 10 minutes and remove the outer ring of the pan. Allow to cool at least another 30 minutes, then remove the bottom tray.
- TO SERVE - Prior to serving, dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar. You may serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream, or a whipped mixture of equal parts whipping cream and creme fraiche. Another nice touch is to add thinly sliced fresh basil to the cream.