Orange cornmeal cake



       Wonderfully moist and flavorful this orange cornmeal cake is great for snacking throughout the day and makes an excellent breakfast with your morning brew or tea.The recipe is straightforward,it takes less than 10 minutes to make and you don't need any fancy equipment,just a few bowls and a hand mixer.
          The first time i made this cake  following an old recipe that was calling for equal amounts of flour and cornmeal but didn't conquer me due to its gritty texture that more closely resembled with a polenta dish than a cake.



     Because didn't fit my taste i gradually reduced the amount of cornmeal trying to achieve a less grainy texture without changing the cornmeal flavor of the cake because is a cornmeal cake after all!
      After several failures and 3 days later,i finally put on the table the desirable cake:a deliciously flavorful moist cake,not too sweet with fresh citrusy notes.
      Like any other recipe,this one is versatile too and you can customize it by adding raisins,fresh blueberries or any other fruit you think it could work.But for me,this cake was pretty addictive plain hence i didn't want to unnecessary overpower it with other textures and flavors.
     In case you're not a fan of orange,you can easily switch up the orange zest for lime or lemon zest or if you don't like citrus at all,you can use vanilla extract to  flavor it because you must add a hint of something to it otherwise it will taste like sweet polenta!!





Prep Time:  
Cooking Time:30-40 
Yield:8 portions




INGREDIENTS
  • 3 large eggs
  • 330g whole-milk greek yogurt
  • 150g all purpose flour
  • 150g caster sugar
  • 125g fine yellow cornmeal
  • 125ml sunflower oil
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • finely grated zest of 1 orange






DIRECTIONS

  • Preheat oven to 175ºC/347ºF (convection/fan forced mode)  
  • Grease bottom and sides of a 22cm baking pan with butter.
  • In a large bowl,whisk together flour,cornmeal and baking powder(these are dry ingredients).Set aside until is ready to use.


  • Separate the egg whites from egg yolks.
  • In a large bowl,whisk egg yolks with orange zest and half of the sugar(75g) until thick and pale about 2 minutes.Add greek yogurt and vegetable oil and mix well to combine(these are wet ingredients).
  • Gently fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.Whisk until no dry lumps remain.


  • In a separate bowl,whisk egg whites with the rest of the sugar(75g)until stiff peaks form,then fold them gradually into the batter.



  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan,spread it evenly with an offset spatula and bake at 175ºC/347ºF for 30 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden brown on top and the skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.



  • It will rise a lot while baking but after it comes out from the oven it will deflate a bit so don't panic,you didn't make something wrong!


  • When the cake is done,remove from the oven.Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before cutting.
  • Dust with icing sugar,cut into pieces and serve!
  • Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days.





That's all, folks!
Enjoy!

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If you make this recipe,please let me know how it turned out!
Post your version on  instagram,tag @lady.j.bakes or leave me a comment below!

Comments

  1. No salt??

    I love cornmeal and all things cornmeal. After I see your reply, I will make this cake!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Christine,i didn't use salt but if you want you can add a pinch.

      Delete
  2. Love the orange color and love the cornmeal addition. is it 2tsp baking powder? my computer doesnt show it well. so i can't tell if its 2 or 1/2 tsp.? Thank you

    ReplyDelete
  3. How much vanilla, would you say?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello,if you omit orange zest add 2 tsp of good quality vanilla extract

      Delete

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