Cornmeal Cake (polenta Dolce) R T

Yellow cornmeal gives the cake a sunny color and slightly crunchy
texture; finely ground cornmeal is preferable, and is often available
at health-food stores. The cake is good plain or topped with berries
and oranges.

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil an 8″ springform pan or coat it with
nonstick cooking spray. Dust it with a little flour, tapping out the
excess.

In a small bowl, stir together flour and cornmeal; set aside.
Separate egg yolks and whites into two mixing bowls. Beat the yolks
and whites into two mixing bowls. Beat the yolks with an electric
mixer on low speed until blended; gradually beat in 1/2 C of the
sugar and continue beating on high speed until the yolks are thick
and pale, about 3 min. Beat in lemon and orange zests and vanilla.

With clean beaters, beat the egg whites on low speed just until foamy;
increase speed to high. When the whites begin to form soft peaks,
gradually add the remaining 1/4 C sugar beating until the whites are
stiff and glossy.

With a large rubber spatula, gently fold the whites into the beaten
yolks. Then gently fold in the reserved dry ingredients just until
combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
Bake for 25 – 30 min, or until the center is puffed and springs back
when lightly pressed.

Loosen the edges and unmold the cake onto a rack, let cool
completely. With a long serrated knife (we used dental floss), cut
the cake horizontally into two layers. Set the bottom layer on a
serving plate and spread with orange marmalade. Replace the top layer
and dust with confectioner’s sugar and orange slices if desired.

Serves 8

This was amazing!! It reminded me of cakes and cookies I had while
growing up. It is a very dry cake with a wonderful crunch. We didn’t
like it with the powdered sugar on top so we just put on mandarin
oranges instead.