Orange Caramel Polenta Cake From Heaven (or Ottolenghi)

I totally forget that this blog is supposed to be about Cake & Shoes as well as Perfume (my personal Holy Trinity), so I thought I'd ease my way back to blogging with the cake I baked all summer.  Every time I bake it it looks almost exactly like this picture, which is to say Absolutely Fabulous, and since it is only available at the amazing Ottolenghi in London, I want to encourage people to make it at home.

It is good for people who don't consider themselves to be bakers, as it is quite a simple thick batter spread over the caramel and orange layer, an upside down cake, and quite impossible to overbake.  I have had better results making the caramel here in LA without the water, and I use1 1/4 cups of butter with 1/2 cup of Olive Oil instead of all butter to make it extra moist, and skip the glaze.  Here is the recipe from Gourmet.

Your friends and fans will love you, and you'll have lots of fun making it, as it is a kind of magic to unwrap it after baking.  

Stay tuned for a new perfume blog on Anya's Garden Scents and assorted Naturals this week!

Comments

[Roxana]

Yum-yum! My daughter Eve and I will most definitely be making this one, I bet it smells good too. Thank you so much for posting it Qwendy!

[ahsu]

How excellent that you're blogging again :) Do you use the orange flower water in the cake (and does it make a difference?)? I'll have to go get some. The cake looks excellent, I love any baking recipe that involves corn.

[ScentScelf]

I trip on by on a regular basis to see if, by chance, you've posted again. Lo and behold, you have! And you brought cake!! How very nice...thank you. :)

[Qwendy]

Amy, I didn't know you are one of my readers ; ) How nice, welcome back! You know I don't use the orange blossom water, mostly because I searched the various places in the house it would be and I haven't got it, and I keep forgetting to get more. I'm sure it does add to this already very aromatic cake. It's really the acid and bitter/sweet of the orange that makes it! Don't make a special trip and just make it with what you have on hand, I guarantee it will be great!

[Qwendy]

Dear Scentself, I was afraid I'd lost you! I see you posting on other people's blogs and I think "I'll never see her again, I must be such a disappointment to her!" Thanks for your loyalty. By the time you've made the cake, I'll be blogging about perfume again! Thanks again for stopping by!

[Qwendy]

So nice to see you Roxana! Tell me how the cake works out, and I promise to blog more about natural perfume soon!
XXX Wendy

[Acaislim]

Yummy!
Very delicious.

[invierta proyectos]

mmmm that is so good!!!