Daily Mail - Daily Mail Weekend Magazine
ORANGE POLENTA CAKE
Serves 8 l 150g (5½oz) butter, softened,
plus extra for greasing
l 125g (4½oz) golden caster sugar
l Zest of 2 medium oranges
l A pinch of salt
l 200g (7oz) fine polenta
l 2tsp baking powder
l 2 large eggs
For the syrup
l Juice of 1 orange
l Juice of ½ a lemon
l 100g (3½oz) icing sugar
To serve (optional)
l 2tbsp icing sugar
l A few drops of orange blossom water
200g (7oz) thick crème fraîche or clotted cream
lzest together with a generous pinch of salt until very soft, light and increased in volume.
Mix the polenta with the baking powder. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the butter and sugar, adding 2 tablespoons of the polenta with each egg. Mix thoroughly after each addition, then gradually work in the rest of the polenta.
Scrape the mixture into your prepared tin and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes. When cooked, the cake will be springy to the touch and will have shrunk away from the sides. It may sink a little in the middle, but this is perfectly normal.
To make the syrup, mix the juices and icing sugar together until the sugar has dissolved. While the cake is still hot and in its tin, pierce the top all over with a cocktail stick, then pour the syrup over as evenly as you can. Leave the cake to cool completely before removing it from the tin. Stir the icing sugar and orange blossom water into the crème fraîche or clotted cream, if using, until well combined, and serve on the side.
Serves 4 l 450g (1lb) mixed dried fruit (raisins, sultanas, currants, blueberries, chopped apricots, chopped prunes)
l 75g (2¾oz) glacé cherries, rinsed and halved
l 75g (2¾oz) candied citrus peel, finely chopped
l Zest of 1 orange
l 75ml (2½fl oz) rum or brandy
l 225g (8oz) plain flour
l 75g (2¾oz) ground almonds
l 2tsp mixed spice
l 1tsp ground cinnamon
l ½tsp bicarbonate of soda
l ½tsp salt
l 150g (5½oz) dairy-free baking spread
l 100g (3½oz) soft dark brown sugar
2018 DV CATENA, MALBEC HISTORICO, MENDOZA, ARGENTINA
Catena is a legendary name in Argentina and this wine lives up to its reputation. Crammed with dark, spicy fruit, it’s a wickedly enticing red that must be decanted before drinking and is a marvellous match for the Hairy Bikers’ Christmas Veggie Wellington. l l l l
l l l
Put all the fruit, including the cherries, citrus peel and orange zest, into a bowl and add the rum or brandy. Leave, stirring regularly, for a few hours or overnight.
Preheat the oven to 150°C/fan 130°C/gas 2. Line a deep 20cm round cake tin with baking paper and wrap a triple layer of foil around the outside, to prevent burning.
Mix the flour with the almonds,
2020 TE PA, SAUVIGNON BLANC, MARLBOROUGH, NEW ZEALAND
I cannot believe the class, restraint and poise shown by this amazing-value sauvignon from the elite winemakers at Te Pa. Tinged with lemon zest and elderflower, it’s a glorious aperitif white.
This fortified wine – which spends five years maturing in oak casks – tastes extraordinary, featuring lashings of honey, burnt caramel and smoky nuts. It’s sensational with both the Orange Polenta Cake and Vegan Christmas Cake.
To make vegan pastry, put 150g plain flour and ½tsp each baking powder and salt in a bowl. Rub in 75g