Orange Polenta Cake (Gluten & Dairy Free) from Vicki Delany

I eat neither gluten free or dairy free, but I recently had a guest who was both. I love to bake, and I set myself the challenge of preparing something my guest could enjoy. Everyone loved this cake. I hope you do too

 Ingredients

 For polenta cake:

3 eggs

1/2 cup (125 g) honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

juice of 2 oranges (3/4 cup, 150 mL)

1/2 cup (100 g) melted coconut oil

1 cup (100g) almond flour

1 cup (150 g) polenta (cornmeal)

1 tsp gluten free baking powder

pinch of salt

For orange and lime juice syrup:

juice of 2 1/2 oranges (1 cup, 200 mL)

juice of 1 lime (1/4 cup, 50 mL)

1/4 cup (65 g) honey

Instructions

For polenta cake:

Pre-heat the oven to 175 ºC (350 ºF).

Line the bottom of a 2 1/2 inch deep springform cake tin with baking/greaseproof paper.

In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients until you get a smooth, homogeneous batter.

Transfer the cake batter into lined cake tin and bake it in the pre-heated oven at 175 ºC (350 ºF) for 30 - 35 minutes, or until golden brown on top and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Allow to cool completely in the cake tin.

For orange and lime juice syrup:

In a small saucepan, heat the orange juice, lime juice and honey until the honey is completely dissolved and the mixture is warm.

Prick the cooled polenta cake still in the cake tin with a toothpick all over. Prick it quite densely, as this allows the "syrup" to be absorbed more efficiently.

Pour the "syrup" over the cooled polenta cake. Allow the "syrup" to be soaked in overnight.

Serving:

After the overnight soak, the syrup should have been completely absorbed by the cake.

Remove it from the cake tin and serve

Coming Tuesday: THERE’S A MURDER AFOOT, The fifth Sherlock Holmes Bookshop mystery.

Gemma Doyle and her friends travel to London for a Sherlock Holmes convention--but will Gemma's father take the fall for a felonious forger's fatality?

The 6th of January is Sherlock Holmes's birthday, and lucky for Gemma Doyle, January is also the slowest time of the year at both the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium, and Mrs. Hudson's Tea Room. It's a good time for Gemma and her friends to travel to England for a Holmes Convention. For Gemma, the trip provides an opportunity to visit her parents, Jayne Wilson is excited about seeing all the sites London has to offer, and Ryan Ashburton just wants to spend some time with Gemma. But the trip is immediately derailed when Gemma's father Henry recognizes his brother-in-law Randolph Denhaugh, who disappeared more than thirty years ago on the night he stole a valuable painting from his own parents.

Henry, a retired detective with Scotland Yard, has been keeping tabs on the man's career as a forger of Old Masters and he warns Randy to stay away from his family. It's up to Gemma, with the help of her friends, to plunge into the "lowest and vilest alleys" of London to save her father from prison.