Amor polenta is a typical Lombard dessert. More precisely, the Varese pastry chef Carlo Zamberletti created this dessert in the 1930s to enhance local flavors and represent his city.
Some think it’s a poor dessert. I doubt that a preparation with all that butter and so many eggs is to be considered poor.
Mom always made it for me when I was a child. I don’t know why a Lombard dessert ended up in the family recipe book; I think it’s because there was a lot of polenta flour in the pantry at the end of the winter and it had to be consumed in some way before summer!
Perfect for a tea, sumptuous when accompanied by Moscato or a hot zabaglione.
Amor Polenta: Polenta Cake
- Preparation time: 60 minutes
- Difficulty: Easy recipe
- Ingredients
- 3 oz (75 grams) of almond flour
- 3 oz (75 grams) of polenta flour called Fioretto
- 3 oz (75 grams) of potato starch
- 5 oz (150 grams) of butter at room temperature
- 4 ½ oz (130 grams) of powdered sugar
- 4 eggs at room temperature
- 3 tablespoons of Strega liqueur
- 2 teaspoons of baking powder
- Powdered sugar to taste
- Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Whip the butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy. Add two yolks and two whole eggs, one at a time. Add the liqueur.
- Sift the flours and the baking powder.
- Add them to the mixture together with the almond flour.
- Pour the mixture into a greased and floured pan.
- Bake in the oven for about thirty-five minutes.
- When cold, it can be sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Tips to ensure the success of the dish:
- I never buy almond flour. For preparations like this, I mince it in the cutter with a spoonful of sugar taken from the total amount in the recipe. The flour will be less fine but it’s fine for rustic cakes like this.
- The mold to be used is similar to the plum cake mold, so rectangular but with grooves on the sides.
- The timing of cooking in the oven is indicative because each oven cooks differently.
