Tuesdays with Dorie and My Two Year Blogiversary

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie turned out to be my favorite one so far, something I wouldn’t have guessed before I made the Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake. I had the recipe bookmarked as one I wanted to try, but it wasn’t at the top of my list. I’m so glad that Caitlin of Engineer Baker chose it for this week, because it turned out to be a type of stepped-up cornbread, a big favorite at Chez Chow. The recipe also helped me Clean Out the Pantry, an occasional them on this blog. I had cornmeal, organic frozen ricotta, and four ounces of Kerrygold unsalted butter that needed to be used up, so I pulled these out, thereby freeing up some much-needed freezer space.

Tip: always store your cornmeal, well-wrapped in the freezer, as it can turn rancid with remarkable rapidity. And sniff it before you use it – it should have a clean, corny smell, and should not smell stale. When you are making a baked good with simple ingredients and pure flavors like this cake (as opposed to a jalapeno cornbread), don’t take a chance on some funky cornmeal spoiling the flavors.

I cut back the sugar to 1/2 a cup, substituted currants for the figs, and mixed the whole thing in my food processor. That was it! Nothing complicated about this recipe, and because I was also busy baking for the Bread Baking Babes and the Daring Bakers, I was grateful that I didn’t have to be whipping egg whites or watching a double boiler.

The cake was dense, moist, and flavorful – the lemon came through but did not overpower. I am so glad that I used a premium butter and ricotta – I think it made a difference. Using frozen ricotta did not affect the cake at all. The currants were perfect, and I liked how they peaked out through the cake, so I decided against dusting it with sugar (which also would have made it too sweet).

Finally, today marks my second anniversary blogging, so I put the polenta cake on a cake stand that I inherited from my late mother, a wonderful baker, cook, and mum. Please be sure to check out the Tuesdays with Dorie’s ever-growing blogroll to see everybody else’s creations, and Engineer Baker for the original recipe. Below is my adaptation. Next Week: Peanut Butter Torte.

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
Adapted from a recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours

1/4 to 1/3 cup moist, plump currants
1 c. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 c. whole milk ricotta (I used an organic brand, without preservatives. I had it in the freezer, thawed it, and it worked great)
1/3 c. tepid water
1/2 c. sugar
3/4 c. honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)
8 Tablespoons, unsalted butter, melted (I used Kerrygold)
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs (room temperature)

Getting Ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.

Check that the currants are, indeed, moist and plump. If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry.

Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor, mix the ricotta and water together until very smooth, about three or four pulses. Add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and pulse a few more times until light. Pulse in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, pulsing until the mixture is smooth. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.

Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the currants. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the panm, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.