Cake and wine? Indeed!

A few years ago, Chef Chris Hoffmann of Cafe des Arts in Franschhoek shared his Lemon polenta cake recipe with us and it is still a go-to in the Leopard's Leap kitchen.

The recipe is easy and delicious and it works for tea time, dessert or a special spoil with Culinaria Pinot Noir Chardonnay

Lemon Polenta Cake Recipe

Serves 6 – 8

For the lemon marmalade

2 lemons, thinly sliced

220 g sugar

375 ml (1½ cup) water

For the cake

200 g soft butter

200 g castor sugar

200 g ground almonds

100 g fine polenta

7,5 ml (1½ tsp) baking powder

3 large eggs

grated zest of 2 lemons

For the syrup

juice of 2 lemons

125 g icing sugar

double cream, to serve

Preheat oven to 160 °C. Line the bottom and sides of a 23 cm spring form tin with baking paper.

1. For the glazed lemon topping, place the lemon slices in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain and add the sugar and water. Boil for 30 minutes or until a syrupy consistency.
2. Lift the lemon slices out of the syrup and allow to cool on baking paper.
3. Reduce the leftover lemon syrup until halved and reserve for later.
4. For the cake, cream the butter and sugar until pale and creamy.
5. Combine the almonds, polenta and baking powder. While whisking, add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs.
6. Whisk in the lemon zest and spoon into the prepared tin. Bake for 40 minutes. The cake may seem unstable, but is ready when a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Place on a wire rack to cool in the tin.
7. For the syrup, bring the lemon juice and icing sugar to the boil. Prick the top of the cake with a cake tester and pour the warm syrup over the cake. Leave to cool before taking it out of its tin. Serve the cake topped with the glazed lemons, extra lemon syrup and double cream.