With Mother’s Day coming up and the signs of Spring in full bloom, it’s all about vibrant colours and a change in direction for foods we’re craving. Of course, that still means including cake in your life 😉 Recently I’ve been introducing more polenta into gluten-free baking and feel like I’ve achieved the ideal consistency without a bake becoming too dry (a common problem), so this recipe, combined with orange, honey and almond and coupled with colourful pomegranate and pistachios, is ideal for this blooming season.
Another post in collaboration with Graham’s The Family Dairy using their super creamy but fat-free Quark, I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do – treat your Mum or anyone else in your life who you think deserves a Springtime treat!
Ingredients:
For the cake –
- 80g solid coconut oil (I used Lucy Bee)
- 100g coconut sugar (I used The Coconut Company)
- 3 eggs (I used The Happy Egg Company)
- 100g gluten-free flour
- 100g instant polenta
- 100g ground almonds
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 100g 0% fat Greek or natural yogurt
- 50 clear honey
- Zest and juice of 2 oranges
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
For the glaze –
- 2 tablespoons clear honey
- 100ml orange juice
For the frosting –
- 150g Graham’s Family Dairy Quark
- 2 tablespoons stevia or zero icing sugar (I used Sukrin)
- Zest and juice of 1 orange
To decorate –
- 4 tablespoons pomegranate seeds
- 4 tablespoons pistachio nuts, diced
Get baking!
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and grease and line a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin.
- Place the coconut oil and coconut sugar in a large bowl and beat together with an electric whisk until fluffy.
- Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then add in the flour, polenta, ground almonds, baking powder and yogurt and continue to whisk.
- Finally pour in the honey, orange juice and zest and almond extract and whisk until everything is fully combined.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and spread out evenly. Bake for about 25 minutes until risen, golden and firm.
- After 10 minutes of removing from the oven, use a skewer to prick all over the cake. Whisk together the honey and orange juice and pour the glaze all over. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin.
- Meanwhile beat together the frosting ingredients together until thick and smooth then keep in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Once the cake has cooled push out from the tin and place on a serving board or stand. Spread over a generous layer of the frosting to cover the top, then scatter over the pomegranate seeds and pistachio nuts. Now slice up and serve!
This cake is best eaten on the day you frost it. If you want to keep it for longer, keep the cake in an airtight container for up to 2 days then frost and eat.
Check out my other recipes for Graham’s The Family Dairy over here 🙂