We had so many requests for the recipe for this cake during our Macmillan Coffee Morning Fundraiser that Melanie has kindly written out all the instructions for you.
220g butter
220g unrefined caster sugar
275g ground almonds
3 large eggs
150g polenta
1 tsp baking powder (gluten free)
Cake
12 green cardamom pods
For the syrup
The juice of a large ripe lemon
5 tbsps mild honey such as orange blossom
5 cardamom pods
1 tbsp rosewater
You will need a non-stick loose-bottomed cake tin about 20cm in diameter, greased and lined on the base. Set the oven at 180C/ fan 160C/ gas mark 4.
Put the butter and caster sugar into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork then stir them into the mixture. Mix the polenta and baking powder and then fold it into the mixture with the zest and juice. Crush the cardamom pods and extract the little black seeds, then grind them to a fine powder. You can use a pestle and mortar or coffee grinder. Add the spice to the cake mixture.
Transfer the cake mixture to the lined tin the smooth the top level. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 160 C/140C fan/gas mark 3 for a further 25-30 minutes or until the cake is firm to the touch.
To make the syrup, squeeze the lemon juice into a stainless steel saucepan then bring it to the boil and dissolve the honey. Add the cardamom pods lightly squashed. Keep the liquid boiling for 4-5 minutes until it has formed a light syrup. Remove from the heat, stir in the rosewater and leave to cool a little. Spike holes into the top of the cake, still warm and in its tin with a skewer, then spoon over the warm syrup. Leave to almost cool in the tin and lift out. Serve in thin slices with a little Greek yoghurt.
The taste of the cake largely depends on the freshness of the cardamom pods and the quality of the rosewater. Please make sure you use rosewater and not rose essence.