Blood Orange Polenta Cake [Vegan!]

I finished my last essay of the term this morning! And it's not due until tomorrow! So I'm finally, finally writing another blog post (please excuse the whole posting-fortnightly-rather-than-weekly-or-on-an-otherwise-regular-basis thing for now) before I head out into the world from which I have been shut away for the duration of this essay, to buy some new jeans. My life is really exciting. As is my fashion sense.

Before I can bid farewell to my hundred-year-old Topshop Jonis, though, I have a recipe to share with you. This is, without a doubt, one of the best things I have ever baked, and I do not say that lightly. If you like dense, ooey-gooey, moist (yep) cakes with a citrus zing, this is the one for you. Make it now.

Blood Orange Polenta cake
adapted from The Flexitarian
makes one 2-layer 8-inch cake
vegan, can be gluten-free (use gluten-free flour if you wish, although I haven't tried it so can't say for sure)

Ingredients
225g vegan butter, room temp. (Flora Freedom, Earth Balance, yadda yadda.. I had no idea half the butter section in supermarkets is actually dairy-free, so this is extremely easy to find!)
275g granulated sugar
125g polenta (usually in the world foods aisle, or with the flours/pastas)
225g self-raising flour (sub for a GF alternative if you want)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
2 blood oranges, juice & zest (or 'blush oranges' if you prefer (I do, they sound oh so sweet))
2 tbsp chia seeds
6 tbsp water
thick-cut orange marmalade

Directions
1. Grind up the chia seeds and mix with the water - I used a coffee bean grinder which we have because Mum is (conveniently) a coffee snob, but if you don't live with someone of such lofty tastes, a pestle and mortar will do just as nicely. Stir well, and set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 180C, then grease and line two 8-inch cake tins with baking paper (which is NOT the same as greaseproof paper).
3. Grate and juice the oranges, setting the zest and juice aside.
4. Whisk together the butter and sugar in a stand mixer (K-beater) or with a hand whisk, until it's light 'n' fluffy.
5. In a separate bowl, sift together the remaining dry ingredients (polenta, flour, baking powder, cornstarch, ginger, salt) and give them a quick mix to make sure they're all nicely distributed.
6. Add half of the chia gloop to the butter/sugar fandango, mix, then half of the dry ingredients, mix, then the rest of the chia gloop, mix, and the rest of the dry ingredients, mix.
7. Add the orange juice and zest, and beat on lightning-fast speed until the mixture is whippy and great, and you start to think that if you don't put it in the oven soon then you might just eat the whole bowl of cake batter right this very minute.
8. Divide the mixture equally between the two prepared tins, flatten the tops out, give them a good whack on the counter to get rid of air bubbles and also anger, then pop them in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
9. Once a cocktail stick comes out clean and they are springy to the touch, remove the cakes and leave to cool for a few minutes in their tins. Then remove from the tins and let them cool fully on a wire rack.
10. To assemble, turn one cake upside-down on a plate and slather on a good few generous dollops of marmalade. (I used Frank Cooper's coarse cut vintage Oxford marmalade (available in basically all supermarkets) because it's really sharp and tangy, but honestly any marmalade will be good in a cake as tasty as this.) Pop the other cake (right way up) on top, and dust with a gentle sprinkling of icing sugar. Enjoy!

I served my slice with some aquafaba whipped cream, which I may do a separate post about if that is of interest to anyone? Let me know.

So, hope you enjoy and hope you make - if you do, please please let me know and I'd love to see a photo! It was super lovely to see some snaps of my 3-ingredient vegan pancakes last month for pancake day.

'Tis the season for blood (/blush) oranges, yum yum yum yum yuuuum, yum yuum yuuum caaaaake. (This works best if you sing it to the tune.. I appreciate it's a little odd to read.)

*All photos in this post are mine. If you wish to use any, please ask my permission and credit me!*
As always, all images are click-to-enlarge.