ITALIAN TEA TIME POLENTA CAKE
This morning opening the pantry in the kitchen when winter is almost ending, I just realized that there's a leftover pack of instant polenta...
I said: "Spring is at the door and summer is approaching and polenta would be to heavy and caloric for the time. What can I make with it today?".
Without much thinking, I took and scrolled one of my recipes book searching what was calling for polenta and came up with a cake named “Tressian” a countryside traditional polenta cake made in north Italy...
ITALIAN TEA TIME POLENTA CAKE
INGREDIENTS: Yield 1 cake
- 7 oz (200g) instant polenta
- 7 oz (200g) all-purpose flour
- 5 oz (150g) of sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) of milk
- 1 apple
- 3.75 oz (100g) of butter
- 3.75 oz (100g) dried figs
- 3 oz (85g) of raisins
- 1 oz (30g) of pine nuts
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp (10g) of instant yeast
- pinch of salt
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Cut and dice the apple and the figs on a cutting board. In a bowl combine the instant polenta with all-purpose flour.
- Add about ¾ of raisins and ¾ of pine nuts (keep some aside for the last coverage before baking). Add the sugar, figs, butter, eggs a pinch of salt and pour in the milk too, add the yeast as well. Mix thoroughly making sure that the butter is well melted in.
- Grease a 9-inch (23x6 cm) cake pan with a nut of butter and sprinkle the bottom with some flour.
- Bake at least for 1 hour at 375°F (135°C).
Now, being a cake of the past, it isn’t a real recipe because every family turned it based on what they had available.
For example, sometimes the apples were replaced all or in part with pears, sometimes sugar was replaced with molasses, and there weren't always candied fruit around as today.
Not bad at all, and as afternoon has to come and tea time too or we Italians maybe go for a coffee break either way I’m going to give it a try.
Putting together what I had further instant polenta I made one which came out enough good to pass it to you.
STEP-BY-STEP POLENTA CAKE
INGREDIENTS:
- 7 oz (200g) instant polenta flour
- 7 oz (200g) all-purpose flour
- 5 oz (150g) sugar
- 1 ¼ cups (300 ml) of milk
- 1 apple of about 5 oz (150g)
- 3.75 oz (100g) butter
- 3.75 0z (100g) dried figs
- 3 oz (85g) of raisins
- 1 oz (30g) of pine nuts
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp (10g) of instant yeast
- pinch of salt
PREPARATION & COOKING:
easy about 1 hour
Begin by cutting and dicing the apple and the figs.
Consider that this polenta cake has to cook quite long for an hour or so and use at least a 9-inch (23x6 cm) cake pan.
