ORANGE, POLENTA & FENNEL CAKE + The Homemade Table Cookbook

September 8th, 2022

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I have a delicious while different cake recipe to share today… but first, the exciting news is that my new cookbook is almost here (4 1/2 weeks and counting).

The Homemade Table – Seasonal Recipes, Preserves & Sourdough

I am so happy to (finally) share details of my new cookbook – The Homemade Table. A book that took three years to write, research and photograph, with over 170 recipes inside 380 pages. If you enjoyed cooking from my last cookbook, Homegrown Kitchen, I am sure you will love this one too.

The Homemade Table will be released on Monday 10th October 2022. Books can also be ordered from local bookstores around New Zealand.

And now to the recipe…

How lovely it is to see the sun again. After weeks, in fact, it feels like months of rain, the sun is like a salve to the soul. I feel my mood and energy lifting with the warmth and extra light.

Citrus is on my mind as we flow into the first weeks of spring. The wintered-over evergreen citrus trees have golden orbs hanging from their branches begging to be used. Oranges, in particular, are ripe and ready, and at their best at the moment (in my cooler valley garden anyway).

They have gone from the tart sweetness of wintertime, to sweet and juicy in a matter of weeks. Our tree, which tends towards one year on one year off, is well and truly “on” this year. Baskets of oranges are juiced into glasses, wedged into school lunches, and used in cooking all over the show. Here is a sweet delight to bring some (extra) sunshine to these early spring days.

Orange, Polenta & Fennel Cake with a Yoghurt Glaze

This naturally gluten-free cake is a one-bowl affair so it comes together in no time. The hardest part is waiting for the cake to cool for glazing. You can also skip the sweet glaze, increasing the sugar in the cake to ½ cup (or not, if like me you like your sweet recipes not too sweet). Instant or “quick cook” polenta is used in this cake adding a light texture and gentle chew to the crumb. Only a small amount of polenta is needed as it absorbs a lot of moisture - about 3-4 times its weight. Finally, I have added fennel seeds to complement the orange. My garden begins to explode into fennel flowers in spring from the (florence fennel) bulbs I leave to flower and self-seed. Once they set seed I gather them in a jar for use in the kitchen. Fennel has a strong aniseed flavour, if this is not favoured then simply leave them out.

Servings 10

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Ingredients

• ⅔ cup (180ml) unsweetened natural yoghurt
• 100 g melted butter or 100ml olive oil
• 3 eggs
• Zest and juice of 2 oranges, using 1/2 cup juice
• ⅓ cup sugar or honey
• ⅓ cup (60g) fine polenta (instant or quick cook)
• ½ cup (60g) ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp ground fennel seeds optional
• Pinch salt

Yoghurt glaze:

• 1 tbsp unsweetened natural yoghurt
• ½ cup (80g) icing sugar
• Fennel flowers for decorating optional

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 170ºC (fan 150ºC). Grease a 22cm round bundt tin, or grease and line a 20cm cake tin.
• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, melted butter/olive oil, eggs, zest and 1/2 cup orange juice, and sugar/honey.
• Add the remaining dry ingredients and continue to whisk until smooth. The batter will be very wet and runny, this is fine as the polenta will soak it up during cooking.
• Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden on the surface and an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes then invert onto a cooling rack.
• Make the yoghurt glaze if using. Combine the yoghurt and icing sugar in a bowl until smooth, taking your time to remove any lumps. Spoon over the cool cake and leave to set for an hour. Decorate with fennel flowers and serve cake wedges with a dollop of yoghurt.
• Store the cake in a sealed container and consume within 3 days.