Ingredients
- 300g cherries, stoned and roughly chopped
- 250g polenta
- 250g pack butter, softened
- 250g golden caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 100g ground almonds
- 2½ tsp baking powder
- 150ml pot natural yogurt
- 1 tsp orange blossom water
- juice ½ orange
- juice 1 orange
- 3 tbsp golden caster sugar
- ½ tsp orange blossom water
- 50g cherries, stoned, plus extra cherries on stalks to serve
- 175g icing sugar
Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Use a little of the butter to grease a deep 23cm cake tin and line with baking parchment. Mix the cherries and 50g of the polenta, then set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition. Add the remaining polenta, the almonds, baking powder, yogurt, orange blossom water, orange juice and cherry mix, and stir everything until just combined. Tip into the tin, smooth the top and bake for 45 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the syrup. Boil the orange juice and sugar for a few mins until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, add the orange blossom water and let cool. When the cake is done, remove from the oven and pour over the syrup. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the cherry icing, put the cherries and icing sugar in a small food processor and blend until smooth. Drizzle all over the cake, then top with whole cherries. Will keep for up to 5 days in a cake tin.