This luscious cake is kissed with juicy Italian plums and citrus peel.
Ingredients:
4 Italian prunes, pitted and cut into wedges
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup polenta or yellow cornmeal
1½ teaspoons baking powder
⅛ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, softened
¾ cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks, plus 2 full eggs
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon or orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
Crème fraîche for serving (optional)
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Lightly grease and flour bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan; line bottom with a 9-inch circle of parchment paper. Arrange prunes on parchment in pan. Sprinkle brown sugar over the plums. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar and beat until light. Add egg yolks and eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add lemon peel and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in the flour mixture. Spoon batter over plums in pan and spread evenly.
4. Bake about 50 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove sides of pan; cool cake completely. Invert cake onto serving platter; remove bottom of pan and parchment. If desired, serve with crème fraîche.
The Italian summer calls to mind visions of beautiful wine, homemade pasta, and garden-fresh produce simply and beautifully prepared. Hence, this week’s box captures the flavors of summer by way of Italy with handmade semolina bucatini noodles to toss with Skagit River Ranch Italian sausage, plus fresh, creamy fior di latte mozzarella-style cheese from Ferndale Farmstead Creamy. Also included for this relaxed, refreshing meal: Pain au Levain bread, red wine, and a colorful assortment of summer produce that includes Little Gem lettuces, golden beets, English shelling peas, rainbow parsley, salad burnet, chives, cauliflower, sweet cherries, and much, much more.
Here are a few recipe ideas for the week:
Summery Bucatini Pasta with Italian Sausage
This light and lovely pasta makes the best of summer tomatoes and herbs; we also recommend adding a dollop of this week’s fior di latte cheese to each serving!
Shelled Pea, Red Spring Onion & Sweet Red Pepper Salad
A perfect summer side for grilled proteins and veggies, or even tossed with cold pasta!
Escarole Salad with Radish & Spring Onion
This salad is packed with bold flavor, drizzled with a Parmesan-Dijon dressing.
Herb-Roasted Cauliflower
Seasoned with parsley, garlic and lemon, this incredibly-easy cauliflower recipe is a keeper.
Cherry-Rhubarb Polenta Cake
Our spin on the cheery Italian-style torta di polenta cake featured in Edible Seattle magazine.
Our spin on the cheery Italian-style torta di polenta cake featured in Edible Seattle magazine.
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb, chopped into ½-inch pieces
2 cups fresh or frozen cherries, pitted
1 cup turbinado sugar
1 cup baker’s or granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon flour, for coating the pan
2 cups almond flour
3 eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Juice of ½ orange
Zest of 2 oranges
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon polenta
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 tablespoons almond slivers, for garnish
Method:
1. In a bowl, mix rhubarb and cherries with turbinado sugar. Set aside for about an hour at room temperature, or until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. Preheat oven to 325°. Using wrappers from the butter, grease then flour a 9-inch cake pan and cut a circular piece of parchment paper to cover the bottom. (A springform pan is ideal for this recipe, but if you don’t have one, slide two extra thin strips of parchment underneath lining, leaving excess on both sides. This will create ‘handles’ to help you pull out the cake once it is finished.)
3. Using a stand or hand-held mixer, beat the softened butter and baker’s/granulated sugar until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes at medium speed). Stir in the almond flour, then beat in the eggs one at a time, until batter is airy and soft. With a large spoon, fold in vanilla extract, orange juice and zest. Add polenta, baking powder and salt, folding in gently. Fold cardamom gently in as well.
4. Spoon the batter into prepared pan and smooth out evenly. Take one cup of the marinated rhubarb and cherries out of their syrup and drain on a paper towel. Press piece gently into the batter and scatter almonds over top. Set cake pan on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until the cake set in the middle and deep golden brown on top. Remove from oven and let sit 5-10 minutes. Gently remove from pan and leave on a wire rack to cool.
5. Cook the remaining rhubarb and cherries over medium-low heat until liquid has reduced and is thick and syrupy. Serve over finished cake with fresh cream, ice cream or crème fraîche.
Spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, this delicious apple cake is sure to be a new favorite.
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
4 apples, cored, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)
¼ cup walnuts, chopped
1 teaspoon each vanilla extract, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg
1 cup all-purpose flour
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease an 8-inch square cake pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, apples, nuts, and vanilla and stir well. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix well.
3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake about 45 minutes, until the cake is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake set in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
