Amor polenta, or Varese cake, is widespread throughout Lombardy and known all over Italy. Its origins are rustic, evident from the cornmeal among the ingredients. For this recipe, I followed the method and ingredients from Master Iginio Massari, confident of an excellent result. The shape of amor polenta is given by the fluted mold I purchased on Amazon.
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Other sweet regional recipes
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 6
- Cooking methods: Electric oven
- Cuisine: Regional Italian
- Region: Lombardy
- Seasonality: All seasons
- Energy 416.46 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 31.39 (g) of which sugars 20.65 (g)
- Proteins 6.45 (g)
- Fat 30.03 (g) of which saturated 13.95 (g)of which unsaturated 9.70 (g)
- Fibers 2.07 (g)
- Sodium 24.15 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 82 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 egg (medium)
- 1/2 cup cup sugar
- 3 tbsps egg yolks
- 1/2 pod vanilla (seeds)
- 1/2 lemon zest (grated)
- 1/3 cup cup fine cornmeal
- 1/3 cup cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup cup almond flour
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 cup cup butter (melted)
- 1/8 cup cup almonds
- 1 tbsp butter
Tools
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- Food scale
- Bowl
- Electric mixer
- Spatula
- Mold for amor polenta
Steps
Preheat the oven to 330°F in static mode. Whip the whole egg with the sugar and continue to whip, adding the yolks. Add the vanilla seeds, grated lemon zest, and salt. In a separate container, prepare a paste by grinding the almonds with 1 tbsp of butter and add it to the whipped mixture. Sift the cornmeal, all-purpose flour, and baking powder, and place them in a bowl, also adding the almond flour.
Once mixed, add them gradually to the mixture using a spatula. Finally, pour in the melted butter and work with the spatula until absorbed. Pour the mixture into the greased and floured amor polenta mold. Bake in the middle of the oven and cook the cake for 40 minutes, ensuring it doesn’t brown too much. Turn off the oven and leave it for 5 minutes with the door ajar. Unmold the cake onto a serving plate once cooled and sprinkle with a little powdered sugar.
