I fell asleep last night thinking of an orange polenta cake with chocolate ganache. I woke up this morning thinking of the same cake. Here is the physical manifestation of my craving!
3 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 1/2 c water1/2 c rice syrup (or maple or honey)
3/4 c olive oil
2 c ground almonds
1 c polenta
3 tsp baking powder
Zest and juice of 1 large orange
2 tsp orange extract or essence
Chocolate ganache:
1 can coconut cream or milk
250g dark chocolate (I use Whittaker’s 72%)
Orange jam or marmalade (optional)
Preheat oven to 180C. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper.
In a large bowl mix the flaxseed mixture with rice syrup and oil. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Pour into your tin and bake for about 60-70 minutes until cooked through.
Leave to cool in the tin to cool completely.
Heat the coconut cream in a small saucepan until just warmed. Take off the heat and stir in chocolate pieces until smooth and melted. Transfer into a clean bowl or container and leave to thicken in the fridge, at least 2 hours.
Once the cake is cooled slice horizontally into 2 layers. Optional step here is to spread orange jam or marmalade on the bottom layer. I only had fig and ginger jam on hand and it worked well. Place bottom layer on your serving plate and spread almost half of the ganache over it. Place the other layer on top and cover with rest of ganache.
Decorate with chocolate scrolls, extra orange slices or sprinkles, or leave plain.
