Kimberly Sklar's Polenta Cake

We had friends over for dinner on Saturday, dinner and game night. Menu planning for dinner parties is always my job, while Ben's is to vacuum and reach pans in high-up cupboards while I point imperiously from several feet below. Seems fair enough, the division of labor, especially because figuring out what to make for dinner rarely feels like a chore to me. It's rather fun to curl up on the couch in the early morning, surrounded by my clippings and papers and books, and cobble together a meal.

This Saturday, though, the day just got away with me. At 4:30 pm I still didn't know what on earth to make. And my guests were arriving in three short hours. I had to choose a few dishes, go shopping, and cook. Ben was nowhere to be found and a slight cloud of panic fogged my glasses. What was I thinking, with my nonchalance and my sudden creative inspiration that had me writing a short story at 2:00 in the afternoon instead of menu-planning, like a proper hostess? I wanted to stamp my foot.

Flicking through my clippings like a bank teller gone wild, I came across a recipe for polenta cake, meant to be served with roasted cherries, that came from an LA Times article published a few years back. Polenta, of course, is just a fancy word for cornmeal, and as I scanned the ingredient list quickly, I realized I already had everything in the pantry to make it. In fact, you probably have everything for this cake in your pantry, too. Therein lies this cake's genius, I would say.

It's just the thing for a last-minute dinner party, because not only do you most likely not have to make an extra trip to the grocery store, but it dirties just one bowl and bakes in less than half an hour. Because it's relatively small, it cools off quickly, too. No hot cake for dessert!

The batter is rather stiff and seems far too little for the pan. I did my best to spread it out, but it didn't reach the edges. At this point, my guests were 20 minutes from arriving and I hadn't showered yet, so to say that I was frantic would be somewhat understating the truth. I might have yelled at the tart pan or at the batter, I can't quite recall. Finally, because I realized that I could not will that batter to the edges without losing some very important self-respect, I put the pan in the oven and left the kitchen. Because it's that kind of a recipe, one that will save you a pinch, it worked out just fine. See? Browned and lovely and agreeably spread out. I can't believe I doubted it.

Now, Kimberly Sklar tells you serve this with roasted cherries when they're in season. The link above has that recipe for you to bookmark when the summer rolls around. I, and this is partially why I chose the recipe, had a jar of cherries in syrup that my mother put up last summer in Italy and that had been gathering dust in my cupboard ever since. Easy peasy! We sliced that cake into dainty slivers, each guest got to top their slice with a spoonful of cherries (sweet, tart, tiny, heavenly - sei bravissima, mammina!) and dessert was rescued.

The cake is rustic and not-too-sweet-but-just-right - a homey, countrified cake that you can't help but feel affection for. It's got an adorably crunchy cap and a barely coarse crumb and is a shining example of the pleasures of plainness. The cake definitely needs the moisture and tang from the saucy fruit, but if you don't have a jar of homemade Italian cherries in syrup lying about, you could just as well stew some frozen blueberries or blackberries with a bit of sugar and some lemon peel and spoon that vibrant compote over each slice.

Is this the best cake ever? No, but that's not the point. It's a problem-solver, a pinch-hitter, and just the kind of recipe every cook should have on hand, just in case. You never know.

Polenta Cake
Serves 8

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature, plus 1 tablespoon for pan
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fine to medium grind cornmeal plus 2 teaspoons for dusting pan
1/2 cup brown sugar, not packed
2 eggs, room temperature
3 egg yolks, room temperature
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar for dusting

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Use 1 tablespoon butter to grease a 9-inch removable bottom tart pan; dust with 2 teaspoons cornmeal.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until light in color and fluffy, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Stir in the almond extract.

3. Sift the flour, remaining corn meal, baking powder and salt together and fold into the mixture.

4. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the sugar evenly on top. Bake for 20 to 24 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. Serve with fruit compote.

Comments

[maggie (p&c)]

Ooh, the almond extract must be perfect with cherries! I'm a sucker for cornbread so I bet I'd like this too. What else did you make for the party?

[Daily Spud]

I do make a fancy polenta cake involving rhubarb, which is divine, but I don't always have all of the ingredients. After a quick peek in my cupboards, I find I *do* have everything needed to make this cake - so I'm liking it already!

[Dawn in CA]

I would love to put up some cherries...if only I had a cherry tree. Since life has given me lemons, however, I intend to put up an obscene amount of lemon curd in the coming weeks. :) The cake looks yummy; I trust the rest of the menu worked out, too?

[Lisa (dinner party)]

Yes, I want to hear the rest of the menu, too!

I hate that horrible, frantic feeling when you're running late before a dinner party. But sounds like you pulled it off beautifully. Can't say I'm surprised!

[Sara]

I have all the ingredients for this recipe...my brown sugar wasn't wrapped tightly and is now a brick but I can chisel it out.

[nicole]

I love that alliteration -- and image -- of "the pleasures of plainness." Just yum.

[Anne]

My Southern Belle friend Kara makes a similar cake with a titch of bacon grease mixed in. Sounds weird, but tastes divine with her carmelized peaches.

And yes! The rest of the menu please!

[Leah]

Anne, I think I just fell in love with your Southern Belle friend Kara.

Hi Luisa! xo

[Luisa]

A titch! My new favorite expression. Thanks, Anne.

And all, the rest of the menu was a squash and cheese pie (stay tuned for recipe and post about it later this week) and a fennel-arugula salad. We started with olives and a tuna dip that might also get its own blog post.

Hi Leah!

[A Mouse Bouche]

That sounds delicious. And how did you let that jar of cherries while away like that? I would not have been able to resist. What was the rest of the last minute menu???

[Sonja]

I'm a big fan of polenta, but so far I've never used it for sweets. I'm very intrigued and will definitely have to try this out!

[Adrienne]

In fact I DO have all of those things in my cupboard. Now if I only had a reason to bake a cake...

[gastroanthropologist]

I love the menu planning part! Lime zest is really good in "plain" polenta cakes. I usually candy it first so it stays green and doesn't turn that weird sort of gray lime zest tends to when cooked.

[Honeybee]

Oh, dear, I know the situation all too well. Last time we had friends over for dinner I was running unbelievably late and I still hadn't peeled the potatoes for the potato puree. I was so frantic that I just peeled and peeled and peeled like my life depended on it and did not realise that the mountain of potatos was way too big already. I actually had to use two pans to cook them. We could have fed an army. Better start earlier next time.

[Victoria]

This is my favorite kind of cake - simple and plain. I bet it has a great crumb. My grandmother in England used to make Victoria sponge all the time, and no recipe I have ever tried duplicates it, so I keep in trying.

This is now on my list of recipes to try.

[glidingcalm]

that looks beautiful and delicious!

[Nadia]

This is the kind of cake that can hit really the hit spot when the occasion demands it. There's a time for sinfully rich double chocolate cookies and a time for rustic simplicity with almond and cherries. Must try!

[The Food Hunter]

I've been wanting to try a polenta cake but I just wasn't sure how it would be. Thanks for testing the waters for me. You're cake looks yummy. I would love to hear the rest of your menu.

[anne spice]

Sounds like there are enough like-minded dinner party procrastinators out there that we really ought to be clued in on what sort of meal we can start, pull-off, and still have time to shower three hours before our guests arrive!

Plus, the cake looks ultra-lovely... yum.

[Anna]

Hi Luisa, just wanted to let you know I did a little ode to your Cranberry Orange Cornmeal Cake that was posted a while back.

http://daughterofabaker.blogspot.com/2009/01/arent-these-cranberries-gorgeous-i-dont.html

I'm excited for this new cornmeal dessert!

[Gourmet Chick]

There is the same division of labour in my house pre dinner party! Although I also usually insist that my boyfriend also does a bit of a tidy of the bathroom as well...

[Chelsea]

Luisa,
I think I got a touch of anxiety just reading your post. Not having a menu ready a few hours before guests arrive would be like the nightmare of waking up to realize you are late for a final.

I usually plan my dinner parties for Sundays so that I have all day Saturday to plan and shop and prep. But it's nice to know this cake is out there if I need something in a pinch. Thanks!

[Laura Kelley]

Hi Luisa:

I have a baking and flavoring question:

I am researching a piece for Silk Road Gourmet on natural substitutes for the taste of the extract derived from the seeds of vanilla orchids. For example: the Tamils and SE Asians have pandanus (rampe) that they use on a wide variety of foods - particularly fish and shellfish.

For comparison to the Asian products I was going to write about the more familiar Fiori de Sicilia used in Panettone and biscotti etc. I googled endlessly and couldn't find out exactly which flowers Fiori de Sicilia are from. I came across a reference that claimed it to be a mix of several flowers orignally cultivated on the banks of Aetna - which sounds incredibly cool but more than a little bit mythic.

So, ask a pro: Which flowers are pressed for the extract that produces the lovely spicy vanilla flavor of Fiori de Sicilia?

Thanks,

Laura

[Laura]

It looks like this will be making a great dessert for my Super Bowl party. I'll give it a go and let you know Monday how it turns out

[Kasey]

Luisa, this cake looks divine. I love anything cornmeal. Have you ever made cornmeal cookies from chocolate & zucchini's blog?

[Carole]

Actually, I like simple and easy cakes. It reminds me of my Busy Day Cake. Ready quickly, good and simple.