Ingredients

• For the polenta cake:
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup - granulated sugar
• 1 tsp - zest of orange, freshly grated (optional)
• 1 no - zest of lemon, freshly grated (optional)
• 1.5 cups - unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 cup - regular polenta (soaked in 2 cups of milk)
• 2 tsp - baking powder
• 1 tsp - salt
• 3/4 cup - extra-virgin olive oil
• Confectioner`s sugar for garnish
• Cream cheese filling for layering:
• 350 gms - Cream cheese
• 100 gms - Confectioner`s sugar, little cocoa powder (optional)
• 1 - zest of a lemon
• spaghetti (fried) for garnishing
• For the beetroot compote:
• 1 cup - beetroot, boiled, peeled, diced1 cup - castor sugar
• 1 tbsp - fresh basil leaves
• 2 - anise seeds
• 3 tbsp - rum (optional)
• 3 gms - Gelatine (dissolved in water)
• 1/4 cup - water

How to Make Olive Oil Polenta Cake

• For the polenta cake:
• Pre-heat oven to 350 deg C and position a rack in the centre of the oven.
• Lightly grease a 9-inch spring form pan with butter.
• Add eggs and sugar in a bowl.
• Whisk them at medium speed until they are tripled in volume, fluffy, pale and yellow in colour.
• In a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, polenta, baking powder, zest of orange and lemon (optional) and salt.
• Begin with beating the dry ingredients and then add one-third of the oil and egg mixture.
• Beat and repeat again twice. Beat well.
• Stop beating the mixture and briefly scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake the cake for 25-30 mins.
• Rotate the cake 180 deg C halfway through the baking time.
• The cake is done when it springs back lightly when touched and pulls away from the sides of the pan, and a knife inserted in the centre comes out clean.
• Cool the cake on a rack, in the pan.
• Remove the sides of the pan and allow the cake to cool completely.
• For the cheese filling:
• Beat the cream cheese with sugar and zest of lemon.
• Don`t over-beat.
• Line the sponge and top it with cream cheese mixture and fried spaghetti for garnish.
• Sprinkle with cocoa powder if desired.
• For the beetroot and basil compote:
• Add sugar in a hard bottom pan and caramelize till it is light yellow in colour, using the water.
• Add anise seeds, rum and gelatine (dissolved in water).
• Add the beetroot and basil leaves and simmer. Don`t mash.
• Use as desired.
• Serve with the above olive oil and polenta cake.