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Rhubarb Cinnamon Polenta Cake

A quick update. It's still raining, a fresh leak sprung in my kitchen, and I've got another Nigel Slater recipe for you.

Straddled between a cobbler and a pound cake, this Rhubarb Cinnamon Polenta Cake is the best thing I've made all week. Someone said it's the New Moon. Who knows. If you are having a WTF-kind-of-week, may I suggest a little at home baking therapy to even things out? Maybe your cat threw up on your freshly washed duvet the same morning you managed to rip the seam of your favorite pants. Are those CNN alerts on your phone giving you a lot of anxiety? How could they not? It could be there is a literal hole in the kitchen ceiling that gives you the peculiar sensation you're cooking inside a carwash. Take all the bullshit and chaos and go into your kitchen and bake one thing. Follow a recipe start to finish. Doesn't even matter how it turns out. Sometimes it's enough to take our minds off what's unraveled or in the process of unraveling. Little things, as my mom likes to say, it all comes down to the little things. Sometimes what she actually says is actually more indelicate than just "things" but I'm editorializing because I know she reads this. 

Rhubarb in cakes can be tricky. As it bakes it releases the most delicious juice, which is heaven elsewhere but in a cake creates a soggy mess. You know that thing where the cake is is all delicious but raw when you get to the fruit filling? No bueno. I'm always looking to strike the balance of jamminess to golden crumb. FWIW I kind of hate myself right now for employing the word 'jamminess,' but moving on... I found baking the rhubarb in advance, as this recipe suggests, before draining some off some of the liquid reduces this. Whatever you reserve can go into a nice aperol spritz later, or more realistically, while the cake bakes. Your secret's safe with me. It's 5'o'clock somewhere, right?

There's a lot of texture put to work in this recipe. Be sure to use a very coarse polenta (as Nigel notes in the cookbook) so you get a nice sandy crumb to contrast the velvety filling.  Plums, baked and drained off this same way, also work nicely in this cake.

Rhubarb Cinnamon Polenta Cake

Adapted from Nigel Slater's Ripe.

Ingredients:

Rhubarb, about 1 lb.
Maple Syrup, 1/4 Cup
Water, 4 Tablespoons
Coarse Polenta, 3/4 Cup
All Purpose Flour, 1 1/2 Cups + 1 Tablespoon
Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon
Kosher Salt, 1/2 teaspoon
Ground Cinnamon, a big pinch
Superfine Sugar, 3/4 cup
1 Small Orange, zest grated
Butter, 10 Tablespoons, very cold
1 Large Egg
Milk or Cream, 2-4 Tablespoons
Demerara Sugar, 1 Tablespoon

 

Directions: 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F and put a baking sheet in the oven so it can heat up. Lightly grease a 8-inch Springform Pan.

  2. Trim the stalks of the rhubarb, then slice the Rhubarb into small pieces under 1" in length. Toss these into a baking dish and drizzle the maple syrup and water on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the rhubarb is tender but still holds its shape. Remove the rhubarb pieces to a colander and drain off all liquid. Reserve for later, if you like!

  3. In a food processor fitted with the pastry blade, pulse the polenta, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar and salt a few times. Cut the butter into smallish pieces and add to the flour mixture with the orange zest. Pulse again until the mix takes on the texture of breadcrumbs.

  4. In a small bowl, whisk the egg with 2 Tablespoons of the milk or cream to combine. Add to the flour mixture and once again pulse a few times. You can do this all by and in a large bowl if you like, but if you're like me and don't feel like dirtying another dish, no worries. The most important thing is to not overmix the dough. As soon the dry and wet ingredients have combined to make a sticky dough, you're done. If it looks too dry, add a little more milk or cream.

  5. Place 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the springform pan, using your fingers or the side of a floured spoon to make a little rim up the side about 3/4" inch high. Place the drained rhubarb on top and them crumble the remaining third of dough on top with your hands. Don't worry about covering all the rhubarb with it. Sprinkle with the Demerara Sugar.

  6. Place the cake on the hot baking sheet in the oven and bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is nice and golden. Allow to cool a little while before serving, if you can help it.