Let’s Celebrate Mother’s Day

As a child we always celebrated Mother’s Day with some kind of cake (along with the obligatory home-made card). My mother now in her 80’s still enjoys a slice of cake on special days – and although not as sprightly as she was, and with a diminished appetite due to illness, can demolish a treat of this kind in record time!

 

Her favourite was usually something creamy or with chocolate (like an éclair) but now is also tempted with a fruity alternative. So in honour of her and all the other great mothers out there here’s my take on a cake for Mother’s Day that we can all hopefully enjoy. In the UK it’s on Sunday!

 

It’s a gluten-free polenta cake made with apples and ground almonds – and it’s moist, moreish and dare I say marvellous! If you are sweetener as well as sugar sensitive then do proceed with care or give this a miss. I am sugar-sensitive but didn’t have any problems with the basic cake itself (I didn’t eat the topping) but everyone is different.

 

We have covered many other sweet and savoury treats for this celebratory day over the years – see the archive of features at the end of the blog for some sweet and savoury alternatives – there’s something for breakfast in bed, lunch/brunch/ dessert and teatime.

 

  

   

 

 

 

SOUTH AFRICAN PINK LADY CORNMEAL CAKE

Ingredients

METRIC/US

1 Pink Lady apple, peeled, cored and chopped

150 g/2/3 cup butter or light butter

150 g/¾ cup caster/superfine sugar (or the equivalent in baking blend artificial sweetener – I used 50 g/2 oz Truvia baking blend)

3 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla extract

150 g/1 cup polenta

pinch of salt

200 g/2 cups ground almonds

1 tsp baking powder (gluten-free if necessary but most is)

finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

Topping:

finely-shredded zest and juice or 1 lemon

40 g/generous ¼ cup sifted icing/confectioner’s sugar

1 Pink Lady apple, cored and thinly sliced

crème fraîche, yogurt or light cream to serve (optional)

 

Method

1.  Cook the chopped apple in a small amount of water for 5-6 minutes until tender. Drain and cool. Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas 4. Grease and line a 20 cm/8 inch round cake tin.
2.  Beat the butter with the sugar or sweetener until light and creamy, then gradually beat in the eggs. Fold in the vanilla, polenta, salt, ground almonds and baking powder. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice and cooled apple.
3.  Spoon into the cake tin and smooth the top to level. Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool for 20 minutes in the tin, then turn out carefully to cool completely on a wire rack.
4.  Heat the lemon zest with 4 tbsp water and the icing/confectioner’s sugar. Add the apple slices and simmer for 4-5 minutes. Spoon over the cake and allow to cool.
5.  Serve sliced with crème fraîche, yogurt or light cream if liked.

 

SERVES 12

WLS PORTION: ½

V suitable for Vegetarians

 

CALORIES PER PORTION: (using Truvia baking blend) 253

PROTEIN: 7.7g

CARBOHYDRATE: 21.3g

FAT: 16.2g

Image courtesy of South African Fruit