Pistachio Rose Polenta Cake
This Middle Eastern inspired Pistachio and Rose Polenta Cake is a definite crowd pleaser, especially for the girls, as the subtle rose water and deep, earthy bite of the ground pistachios go so well together.
For the cake:
200g butter
4 tablespoons of carob syrup
3 eggs
100g ground almonds
100g polenta
150g shelled pistachios, plus extras to serve
1 tsp baking powder
10ml or less rosewater
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
For the syrup:
120ml lemon juice
100ml rose water
120g caster sugar
Handfull of pistachios and edible rose petals to decorate
1. Preheat your oven to 170degrees. Put the pistachios into a food processor and grind to a powder, although a little texture will still be delicious and add some crunch to the cake. Add the ground almonds, polenta, baking powder and salt and mix again.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and carob syrup together. Add the egg a little at a time and beat in well. Mix in the dry ingredients, then add the rose water and vanilla. Add to your lined loaf tin. Bake for 45 minutes or until a cocktail stick comes out clean.
3. To make the syrup, put all the syrup ingredients in a small pan, bring it to the boil to dissolve the sugar and remove from the heat.
4. When the cake is ready, take it out from the oven and while it’s still hot, spoon all but 4tbsp of syrup over it. Allow the cake to cool then take it out of the tin.
5. Sprinkle pistachios and edible rose petals over the cake and when you’re ready to serve, slice the cake and drizzle a little of the remaining syrup on each portion.