Orange Polenta Cake with Orange Drizzle Syrup

This cake is so good!! Not a birthday or celebration cake but rather just a really nice afternoon coffee or tea cake, lovely to serve guests, all my current omni guests loved this! I based this one on my coconut lime bundt cake but changed the flavours to orange and replaced the coconut cream with ready made Alpro Soya Custard. It turned out beautifully, if you can't find a ready made soya custard, a ready made soya vanilla pudding would work as well. Like the coconut lime bundt cake this cake turns out a little crumbly (in a good way!) so lent itself well to a soaking syrup being poured all over. It really makes this cake. You can't see it there too much but the flavour that syrup adds is sublime. I definitely have a new favourite cake! ;-)

Orange Polenta Cake with Orange Drizzle Syrup
100g vegan margarine, I use Vitalite
100g caster sugar
100g Alpro Soya Custard, or Soya Vanilla Pudding, ready made
140g plain flour
50g Polenta, Cornmeal or Maize - fairly fine, not coarse but not powdery
2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 tsp orange extract
zest of 1 naval orange
Orange Drizzle Syrup:
100ml freshly squeezed orange juice from a naval orange, strained
100g caster sugar

Line a 7" cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides, preheat the oven to 180C. In a large bowl beat the margarine with the sugar until light and fluffy, I just use a whisk. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, polenta, baking powder and salt. Add the zest and orange extract to the margarine mixture and whisk well. Now add some of the flour mixture and beat with a wooden spoon, then add some of the soya custard and beat well. Alternate until all the flour and custard is added. Scrape into the prepared tin and level the surface. The batter will be very thick, you'll need to spoon it in, it's not a pouring batter :-) Bake for 30 minutes or until firm and golden on top. Let cool 5 minutes in the tin then turn out upside down onto a wire rack and remove the baking paper.

For the syrup add the orange juice and sugar to a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring all the while. Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes, stirring often until it thickens up and the sugar is dissolved. Set aside. Now you can either pour the warm syrup over the warm cake or wait until it all cools. Either is fine. I poked a few holes around the cake and poured the warm syrup over the warm cake until it couldn't take anymore, then poured the rest over when it was cooled to finish off the syrup. Serve once cool, great with tea or coffee.

Nutritional Information: based on 1 slice out of 12
Calories: 175
Fat: 5g
Sat Fat: 1.1g
Protein: 1.9g
Fibre: 0.7g
Carbs: 31g
Sugar: 18.3 g
Calcium: 69.6mg (depending on brand of soya custard/pudding used)
Sodium: 139mg

♥

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