When is a recipe yours?
The American Libertarians, an inspiring and intellectually rigorous bunch, say intellectual property should not exist in law. No copyright, no ownership once you put the book, article, software or film out there anyone can have it.This is not a position I could agree with: without the right to own the thing who would labour to produce it?
I got this recipe from the great Darina Allen's book Ballymaloe Cookery Course (the only cook book you will need as oppose to want. Buy it!) and she credits it to Sophie Grigson but it has gone through a few changes so that is why it is here, pace Darina, Sophie and the American libertarians!
It is very easy to make, gets great reaction but it always seems a little fiddlier and time consuming than it should. I double this recipe and make it in a 10" spring form normally but start with this in an 8" tin if you want to be cautious.
Line the tin with baking parchment
Mix 1oz of polenta meal with 1oz fine breadcrumbs, 3½ oz of ground almonds and 7oz of sugar (white, caster if you have it)
Add a 1½ teaspoons of baking powder.
Grate in to this the rind of one well scrubbed orange (its the wax, I don't live in a universe with unwaxed oranges, if you do, don't scrub. Demand is the thing: if there was demand for unwaxed enterprising merchants would so sell!) and hlf the rind of a similarly treated lemon.
Whisk together a very scant 7fld oz (better 6¾ fld oz) of sunflower oil and 4 eggs.
Mix the wet with the dry ingredients.
Pour into the prepared tin.
Place in the oven and then (and ONLY then) turn on the oven to 160°-170°c.
The cake will take about 45-60- minutes to bake.
Meanwhile you take 4 tbl spoons of whole coriander seeds and toast them in a small saucepan over medium heat until they start to pop. grind them coarsely, a few bashes in a mortar and pestle if you have one, otherwise just improvise.
Squeeze all the orange juice, half the lemon and add 3½ oz of sugar into the saucepan. Add the coriander seed and slowly ( you want to dissolve the sugar) bring to the boil and keep there for 4-5 minutes. I like to add a glug of brandy aswell but make up you own mind on that, before the boiling of course.
The cake is done when a skewer poke slant-ways through the centre (the skewer test) comes out clean. if in doubt give it a few more minutes but take care: it does burn fairly easily. The cake should be a nice dark gold colour.
Carefully open the sides, put the cake on some type of big plate and pour the syrup slowly through a sieve onto it.
leave to cool and serve in small slices with whipped cream, crème fraiche or
caramel yoghurt.
Ingredients
1oz polenta flour (course maize meal)
1oz fine only slightly stale bread crumbs
3½oz ground almonds
1½ tea spoons baking powder.
Grated rind of 1 good orange, half the rind of a lemon.
7 oz sugar
7oz sunflower oil
4 eggs
4 table spoons whole coriander seed
3½oz sugar
Juice of an orange and ½ a lemon
8" spring-form tin
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