Cherry-polenta cake
We generally have a fair bit to say and are seldom short of a word or 300 but sometimes, the brains at LSC go into Fully Fried Mode and we just don’t know what to say. Right now it’s hot, it’s the end of the year and we’re running out of words. Enter ChatGPT. We thought it would be kind of fun to get the ghost in our machine to write a few things about this lovely cake, pleasantly textured with polenta, a little bit squishy, and dotted here and there with juicy, ripe cherries. So that we didn’t have to. Because our brains are munted. Here’s how that went down;
“Indulge your taste buds in a symphony of flavors with this culinary masterpiece that effortlessly marries sweetness, warmth, and a hint of Mediterranean charm. Picture this: as the cake bakes, the aroma of sweet cherries and the subtle fragrance of high-quality olive oil waft through your kitchen, creating an irresistible allure. The golden crust forms a delightful contrast to the ruby-red cherries nestled within, promising a visual feast before you even take your first bite.”
SYMPHONY? CHARM? NESTLED? WHO WRITES THIS STUFF?? Oh yeah, that’s right; ChatGPT writes this stuff. Because we asked it to. Our fault. It went on, waffling about ‘culinary bliss,’ ‘afternoon delight’, ‘enchanted senses’, a ‘moist crumb’ (of course it did!), the ‘marriage of cherry, polenta and olive oil’ and being ‘transported to a sun-kissed Mediterranean paradise.’ Turns out AI’s been trained on a fair amount of shonky romantic novels and Hallmark cards and we just can’t with the syrupy schmalz and American spelling. So here’s our version:
This cake is great. End of story. So make it now while cherries are in season; we reckon you could probably use chopped plums or apricots – or even berries – instead of the cherries if you like. We love how our olive pitter (which is at least eleventy hundred years old) makes quick work of pitting the fruit and, once that task is done, the rest is pretty straightforward. If you don’t have a pitter, just kind of wrangle the pits out of their cherry carcasses using your fingers and be prepared for a bit of muntage. Doesn’t matter. Use vegetable oil instead of EVOO if you prefer but honestly, you don’t actually taste the olive oil once the thing is baked and it’s better for you than veg, but you do you. To serve? Cream, yoghurt, icecream... the usual suspects. You don’t need us to tell you that. Or ChatGPT for that matter, either.
MAKES A 23cm CAKE
300g cherries
200g (2 cups) ground almonds
100g polenta (fine cornmeal)
60g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
250g caster sugar
200ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (optional)
Icing sugar, for sprinkling
Preheat the oven to 180C. Lightly grease and flour a 23cm springform pan, then line the base with paper. Pit the cherries and set aside.
Combine the ground almonds, polenta, flour and baking powder in a bowl, then whisk to combine well and get rid of any lumps in the almond meal.
In another large bowl, combine the eggs and sugar then, using electric beaters, whisk until thick and pale. Whisking constantly, add the olive oil in a thin steady stream, then add the vanilla and almond extract, if using. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture, then using a large metal spoon, stir to combine well. Pour half the cake batter into the tin, scatter over half the cherries, then add the remaining batter and cherries, smoothing the surface even. Bake the cake for 50 minutes or until a cake tester withdraws clean. Cool the cake in the tin on a cake rack for 30 minutes, then remove from the tin and cool completely. Dredge the cake with icing sugar, then serve.
