Off Roading Maialino'S Olive Oil Cake With Polenta And Cardamom

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 F while you prep other ingredients and work on the cake batter. Oil a 9 inch cake tin and line it with parchment paper. I spread a couple of drops of oil with the tips of my fingers over the parchment paper too. I find it helps in peeling it off once the cake has cooled.

2. 2

   In a large mixing bowl measure all the dry ingredients including cardamom powder and whisk together to combine. (To make your own cardamom powder, as I did, take ~ 10 to 12 pods and collect the seeds, reserving the shells for brewing with tea or coffee. Grind the seeds in a spice or coffee grinder. This should yield about 1 tsp, add more seeds if necessary.)

3. 3

   In a second mixing bowl, combine and whisk olive oil, eggs, milk, orange and lime juice, orange and lime zest. To this mix add the dry ingredients, whisking until all ingredients have just combined. Do not over whisk.

4. 4

   Pour batter into the prepared cake, place on the center rack in the oven and bake for 1 hour until the top is a golden. The cake will rise slowly. When baked a cake tester or toothpick should come out clean.

5. 5

   Remove from the oven, run a knife along with sides of the tin and let it cool on a rack. After 30 minutes slide the cake onto a rack and cool for about 2 hours. This cake will have a soft but even crust. (If you invert the cake onto the rack, you might see a pattern from the rack appear on the top. )

* Per serving · 4 servings · Values may vary.