Grapefruit polenta cake
Love lemon drizzle cake? This super-moist bake has the same citrussy kick, but swaps lemons for grapefruit and adds a shot of optional Campari. Inspired by The Hairy Bikers!
Ingredients
For the cake
- 300g/10½oz fine cornmeal or polenta
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 200ml/7fl oz vegetable oil, plus extra for greasing
- 175g/6oz caster sugar
- 2 grapefruits, very finely grated zest only
- 3 free-range eggs
- pinch salt
For the syrup
- 125²µ/4½´Ç³ú icing sugar
- 2 grapefruits, juice only
- 1–2 tbsp Campari (optional)
For the topping
- 200g/7oz dairy-free yoghurt
- 4 tbsp icing sugar
- 2 tbsp shelled, unsalted pistachios
Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. Butter a 23cm/9in round cake tin (preferably not a loose-bottomed one, or the syrup will ooze out) and line with baking paper.
Put the cornmeal, baking powder and a generous pinch of salt into a bowl. Mix well and set aside.
Put the oil into another large bowl with the sugar and grapefruit zest. Beat until very soft and aerated. Add the eggs one at a time, alongside 2 tablespoons of the cornmeal or polenta mix, beating well in between each addition. Fold through the remaining cornmeal. The batter will be quite stiff.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared tin and smooth over the top. Bake for 35–40 minutes until the top is springy and a rich brown colour. The cake should have shrunk away from the sides of the tin.
While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Put the sugar, grapefruit juice and Campari, if using, into a small pan and heat over a low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Keep it warm until the cake is cooked.
Once the cake is done, leave it in the tin and pierce all over the top with a cocktail stick or skewer. Pour over the syrup while the cake and the syrup are both still warm, making sure you cover the cake as evenly as possible. Leave the cake to cool in the tin, then carefully transfer to a serving plate.
For the topping, mix the yoghurt and icing sugar together. Spread on top of the cooled cake and sprinkle with the pistachios.