Best 4 Polenta Grape Cake Recipes

POLENTA GRAPE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with butter. Line bottom and two sides with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang; butter parchment.
• Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium. Simmer, swirling pan occasionally, until butter turns golden brown and nutty-smelling, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; let cool completely. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat cooled butter, granulated sugar, and honey on medium-high speed until mixture resembles a sandy paste, 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture in two batches, alternating with milk, just until combined (do not overmix). Fold in 1 cup grapes.
• Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top. Bake 15 minutes. Scatter remaining 1 cup grapes, rosemary, and sanding sugar over top. Bake until golden and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes; remove cake using parchment and let cool completely on rack. Serve warm or room temperature.

ITALIAN FRESH PURPLE GRAPE CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Generously butter and flour the 9 inch springform cake pan, tapping out any excess flour. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a whisk, beat the eggs and sugar until thick and lemon-colored, about 3 minutes. Add the butter, oil, milk and vanilla extract, and mix until blended.
• Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Add the lemon zest and orange zest, and toss to coat the zest with flour.
• Spoon the flour mixture into the bowl of batter and stir with a wooden spoon until thoroughly blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix once more. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the flour to absorb the liquids.
• Stir in about 3/4 of the grapes into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth out the top with a spatula.
• Place the pan in the center of the oven at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 15 minutes, then sprinkle the top of the cake with the remaining grapes. Bake for about 40 minutes more, until the top is a deep golden brown and the cake feels quite firm when pressed with a fingertip.
• Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. After 10 minutes, run a knife along the sides of the pan. Release and remove the side of the springform pan, leaving the cake on the pan base. Serve at room temperature, cut into thin wedges.

HARD POLENTA CAKES

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine the milk, water, bay and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat and season generously with salt. Take the seasoning to the edge of too salty. To do this you MUST taste as you go. Polenta acts as a salt eraser, if you don't season abundantly here you will never recover from it.
• Once the liquid is at a boil and is seasoned appropriately, sprinkle in the polenta whisking constantly. Once the polenta is combined switch over to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until the polenta has become thick. Taste the polenta to see if it has cooked through. If it still feels mealy and grainy, add some more milk or water and cook it to a thick consistency. Repeat this process, as needed, until the polenta feels smooth on your tongue, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the chopped sage and mascarpone.
• Line a 7 by 7-inch square pan with plastic wrap. Pour the polenta into the prepared pan. Cover the top with more plastic smoothed onto the surface of the polenta. Chill in the refrigerator until needed. (All of this can totally be done ahead of time, like yesterday! Cool!)
• When ready to use, remove the polenta from the pan and cut into desired shapes. Coat a nonstick saute pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot and starting to smoke just a little, add the polenta shapes. Cook the polenta on both sides and finish by sprinkling with a little bit grated Parmigiano. Transfer to a serving platter and serve while hot.
• What a corncake!!!!

OLIVE OIL CAKE WITH RED GRAPES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush an 8-inch square pan with oil; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Whisk together flour, almonds, polenta, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Beat eggs, sugar, and zest with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; slowly add oil. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with milk, beginning and ending with flour.
• Spoon batter into pan; scatter 1 cup grapes over top. Bake for 15 minutes. Scatter remaining cup grapes over cake. Bake until cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 to 27 minutes more. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out, and cut into squares.