Apple and polenta cake + a surprise from Cannes

I must confess that reading that “Blue is the Warmest Color” had won the Palme d’Or surprised me quite a bit: not because of the film itself – I haven’t seen it yet so I can’t judge – but because I would never expect a jury presided by Steven Spielberg, a director who very seldom makes adult films, would vote for such a bold film. Maybe Ang Lee had something to do with it (he should have been chosen President of the Jury imo). And even if it was a political choice as some believe it was I’m still surprised, for Spielberg was never the controversial one. I just hope “Blue is the Warmest Color” gets distributed here in Brazil, and soon – I would not like to wait for it as much as I had to for “Drive”.

Something else surprised me weeks ago: Amber Rose’s beautiful cookbook. I don’t worry about nutrition when I bake – I think that if you’re eating a slice of cake or a brownie it’s about pleasure, leave the nutrient talk for your lunch and/or dinner - but I ended up finding Rose’s approach to baking a very interesting one. This cake, for instance, is sweetened with honey instead of sugar, and the result is excellent. Just make sure you use a variety of honey you’re fond of because the flavor is definitely noticed in the cake.

Apple and polenta cake
slightly adapted from the beautiful beyond words Love Bake Nourish (I bought mine here)

Apples:
¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter
2 ½ tablespoons honey
450g Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2cm dice

Cake:
1 cup (100g) almond meal
¾ cup + 1 tablespoon (115g) all purpose flour
½ cup + 2 tablespoons (110g) cornmeal
¾ teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
2 teaspoons lemon juice
150ml honey
½ cup (130g) plain yogurt
3 large eggs
140ml olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Prep the apples: melt the butter and honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Bring to the boil and bubble until it caramelizes a little. Add the apples and cook over medium-high heat until the apple pieces are golden and the syrup is sticky, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F. Lightly butter a 20cm (8in) round cake pan, line the bottom with a circle of baking paper and butter the paper as well.
In a large bowl, whisk together the almond meal, all purpose flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together the lemon zest, juice, honey, yogurt, eggs, olive oil and vanilla until well combined. Pour into the dry ingredients and fold until combined. Stir in the apples.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until risen and golden and a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool completely in the pan over a wire rack, then carefully unmold. Dust with icing sugar to serve.

Serves 8-10