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Recipes from my Lincolnshire kitchen

peach polenta upside-down cake

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…friends eh? Whilst it’s wonderful having a #squad, when they’re a sarcastic bunch like our lot you can spend the weekend wondering if they really did like that 3rd cake you woke up at 5am to make… yes folks, I care that much that I wasn’t happy with the first bake so I made a second and then a third.  This cake was received with stony silence and upon tasting it I was pretty silent myself but then that could have been the gluey texture sealing my mouth shut and by this point I was hearing grumblings about how my cakes look so good in photo’s and that’s all that really matters right?  I don’t know if it’s because i’ve lost my baking mojo or if it’s because i’m baking gluten free cakes for my precious friends but I just couldn’t get it right and yet I was determined to prove that I was the baking king of Belleau, so I awoke especially early last Saturday morning, grabbed some peaches from the bowl and made this beauty. I love baking early in the morning.  There’s something wonderfully peaceful about having the kitchen to yourself as the room brightens naturally with the day.  I love the idea that you’re working like a little magical elf to make goodies so that when your friends arise they’re greeted with the intoxicating aroma of baking cake wafting through the house…

peach polenta upside-down cake

so sadly it wasn’t the huge hit it looks like it should be… it was OK and the peaches tasted divine and perfectly caramelised but I think my polenta wasn’t fine enough and i’m still getting used to the coconut flour too.  It was very crumbly but after 24 hours, once the cake had had time to rest and absorb the peachiness, it tasted much better, much softer and I of course was much happier… although I may go back to not baking for anyone just in case it doesn’t quite work out the way I know it should do… or maybe i’ll go back to the classics and not worry so much about those unable to eat proper cake… maybe…

for the upside-down layer

2 peaches
75g light muscovado sugar
the juice of half a lemon

for the sponge
120g butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
125g caster sugar
2 large free-range eggs, lightly beaten
75g coconut flour
75g fine polenta
1 teaspoon baking powder
grated zest of 1 lemon
a pinch of salt

preheat the oven to 170°C fan and lightly grease a 20cm round cake tin with butter and line the bottom with baking parchment. Generously grease the parchment with butter too. It’s best not to use a loose-bottomed tin here, but if that’s all you have, tightly wrap a double layer of aluminium foil around the outside of the base to prevent any juices escaping.

quarter the peaches and cut them into thin slices and throw them into a bowl along with the muscovado sugar and lemon juice and toss them around until the sugar becomes a syrup and all the peaches are coated. 
arrange the coated peaches in a single layer, slightly overlapping, round the bottom of your tin and pour any excess sugar syrup over the top. 
to make the sponge, cream the butter and sugar in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon, or in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, a little at a time, beating well between each addition, then fold in the coconut flour, polenta, baking powder, lemon zest and salt

spoon the batter over the peaches, smooth the surface with a knife and bake for 35-40 minutes or until risen and golden then remove the cake from the oven, run a sharp knife round the edge then leave to cool for 10 minutes before turning over onto a plate.

eat and of course, enjoy!

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Comments

  1. Felicity says

    It looks great, and you are right, some cakes just need a little extra time to mature.
    Don't forget, it's the Village Show in about ten or eleven days so you need to get your baking mojo back. The village show needs your input.xx

  2. Suelle says

    Coconut flour needs special recipes – it's not possible to use it in a straight substitution for wheat flour. Looking at your recipe there's far too little liquid for the amount of coconut flour you're using. The usual remedy in recipes I've looked at is doubling the number of eggs. The recipe might have been more successful using polenta and either a gluten-free flour or ground almonds. Having said all that I think you might be very critical of your efforts – it looks fine to me!

  3. Susan Lindquist says

    So … when are you going on the British Baking Show? Do I have that name right? You know, the one with the smarmy women coaches who butt in at all the wrong times and try to be funny when actually they're stressing the poor bakers out. I'm sure you could wow the judges (who I really like) and tell the wenches to stuff it! Especially with the cakes and sponges that you make!

  4. Magnolia Verandah says

    Im all for trying to make something GF to please friends and family, but if it doesnt taste nearly as good as normal flour well…………some people just don't appreciate the time, effort or the expense. Looks great though!

  6. Jean says

    I know what you mean, you spend all that time, effort and money and end up with something that's a poor substitute for real cake, which is meant to taste divine and put a smile on everyone's face.
    I think some cakes do not translate into a GF version, no matter how hard you try.
    This one looks delicious though.

  13. Tricia Buice says

    It does look beautiful Dom. I can't tell you how many things I've baked that were pretty in the pictures but never made it to the blog or as a gift. Some things just don't work for me. The peaches really are gorgeous – and I love the effort!

  15. Phil in the Kitchen says

    Looks really good. I've found that using coconut flour takes quite a bit of getting used to and I'd agree with Suelle's advice. I also agree that cooking in the early morning is a wonderful thing – I've really got to stop sleeping late.

  16. Kate Glutenfreealchemist says

    Whatever it tasted like, it looks great!
    Coconut flour is a really difficult flour to work with. Of all the GF flours, I find it the hardest to get right…. needs crazy amounts of liquid added. But hats off to your tenacity! Lovely as a kitchen may be in the early morning, it's a rare event to see me drag myself out of bed before a sensible time…… regardless of whether my guests need cake! x

  17. Choclette Blogger says

    Your friends are very lucky to have you Dom. Don't give up, but do make a few of your fabulous regular cakes too. Coconut flour is a very tricky customer. It works well as an addition to wheat flour, but on it's own it doesn't quite work I've found.