Lemon Cornmeal Cake With Raspberry Filling Recipes

RASPBERRY & LEMON POLENTA CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 and butter two 20cm sandwich tins. Line the bottom of the tins with baking paper. In a large bowl, beat the butter and 225g caster sugar together until creamy and light. Gradually add the egg, little by little, until all the egg is worked in and the mix is pale and fluffy. If the mix looks like it's starting to split, add 1 tsp of the flour, then carry on.
• Put the polenta in another bowl, then stir in the flour and baking powder. Beat the vanilla extract and zest into the eggy mix, then fold in the dry ingredients. Spoon half the batter into each tin and level the top. Scatter all but a handful of the raspberries over the mix and poke in gently. Sprinkle one of the sponges with the 1 tbsp sugar. Bake for 20 mins until risen and golden, but still with a little wobble under the crust.
• Open the oven, whip out the sugar-crusted sponge and quickly poke the remaining frozen raspberries into the top. Bake both sponges for 10 more mins or until springy in the middle. If this sounds too tricky, just leave the sponges to bake for 30 mins - the cake won't look as glam, but will still taste great (you can add the leftover berries to the filling instead). Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then cool completely on a rack. Be careful when turning out the raspberry-topped sponge and slide it off its base rather than turning it upside down.
• When the sponges are cold, beat the soft cheese with the icing sugar, lemon zest and a little of the juice to loosen if it needs it. Very lightly whip the cream so that it just holds its shape, then fold into the cheese. Fold in the defrosted raspberries. Use to sandwich the sponges together, sugar-crusted on top, and serve dusted with more icing sugar.

LEMON CORNMEAL CAKE WITH RASPBERRY FILLING

Steps:

• For filling:
• Puree berries in processor. Strain into heavy medium saucepan. Add sugar and cornstarch. Stir over medium heat until mixture boils and thickens, about 3 minutes. Cool. Cover; chill until cold, about 2 hours.
• For cake:
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly butter 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides. Line bottom with parchment paper. Butter parchment. Dust pan with flour; shake out excess. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into medium bowl. Stir in cornmeal. Add to butter mixture and beat just until blended. Mix in lemon peel and extract.
• Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake until cake is golden and toothpick inserted into center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack, cool. Using knife, cut around pan sides to loosen cake. Turn cake out. Peel off parchment.
• For frosting:
• Beat cream, sugar and extract in large bowl until soft peaks form. Beat in 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel. Set aside 2/3 cup frosting for decoration.
• Using serrated knife, cut cake horizontally into 3 layers. Using bottom of 9-inch-diameter tart pan as aid, transfer 1 layer to platter. Spread half of filling over. Spread 1 cup frosting over filling. Top with second cake layer. Spread remaining filling over. Spread 1 cup frosting over filling. Top with third cake layer. Spread sides and top of cake with remaining frosting. Press nuts onto sides of cake. Spoon reserved 2/3 cup frosting into pastry bag fitted with medium star tip. Pipe around top edge of cake. Sprinkle top of cake with 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon peel. (Can be made 4 hours ahead. Cover with cake dome and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before serving.)