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Orange curd cake
Makes a 20cm sandwich cake. Start 1 day before serving. Cakes, Bread and Pastries
Ingredients
- 200g fine polenta
- 300g organic wholegrain khorasan flour, plus extra for dusting
- 170g soft brown sugar
- 10g fine sea salt
- pinch saffron strands
- 200g/ml water at 27C
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 175g light-flavoured olive oil
- 150g bubbly, lively second-build starter (see recipe linked)
- grated zest 1 orange
- butter, for greasing
- 300g orange curd
To decorate
- icing sugar or 2 generous tbsp marmalade, warmed
Method
The day before, mix together the polenta, flour, sugar, salt and saffron in a large bowl. Add 175g/ml of the water, along with the eggs, oil, sourdough starter (recipe here) and orange zest. Stir to combine all the ingredients until there is no dry flour remaining, then set aside for 10–15 minutes. While the mixture is resting, refresh the remaining starter in your jar and set aside.
Gradually add the remaining 25ml water, a little at a time. You may not need the full amount, so mix it in gradually and check the consistency before adding more. You want a thick, batter-like consistency.
To prove, thoroughly grease two 20cm round cake tins and dust with a little flour. Divide the batter between the tins and leave to prove on the kitchen table overnight.
The next morning, preheat the oven to 180C/160C F/Gas 4. Put the cake tins in the oven and bake for around 25 minutes until they are light golden brown, firm to touch when pressed lightly and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Check them before they reach the end of baking time as ovens vary. If they’re not ready, give them another couple of minutes before testing again.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in their tins for a few minutes, then remove from the tins and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. By now, your starter should be ready to put in the fridge until you next need to prepare it for baking.
When cool, sandwich your cakes together with the orange curd, then dust the top with icing sugar or brush with the warmed marmalade. Wrap in greaseproof paper, store in a cake tin, and eat within 2 days.
This recipe was taken from the October 2021 issue of Food and Travel. To subscribe, click here.
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