I had my first day at a new job today. There is always trepidation with such a change, that anxiety about the unknown. Fortunately, I thrive on change and don’t stay around too long if I am discontent. Life is too short to dread getting up in the morning because of work. I didn’t feel like that about my last job but it no longer challenged me so I have moved on. But to get back to my first day – it was good. They have just gone on the cloud so I was learning alongside others what differences this entailed. This has upset many of the members of the firm who get set in their routines but I thrive when learning new things, especially where technology is concerned. I wanted a challenge and a challenge is what I have found.
The cake I baked in the weekend was also a challenge. Like my last offering, Banana peanut butter meringue bars, I needed gelatin to make sure the lemon curd was firm enough not to run everywhere when the cake was sliced so I asked Adriano to buy some at a big supermarket on his way home from a race he won down country. He was obviously distracted by his moment in the sun and completely forgot my vital gelatin. You would think the gelatin had a curse on it. I made the lemon curd anyway, crossing my fingers it would firm up enough but decided at the last moment to add some dissolved tapioca flour and that worked – but only just. It has behaved nicely for the photos but the cake really needs to be eaten with a spoon or you end up with lemon curd and meringue all over your face. The meringue wasn’t planned for the cake but I had plenty left over from my last offering so I piled it on top and grilled it briefly to give it some colour. This is a tasty cake with many of my favourite things all in one place.
- 100g unsalted butter
- 150g low fat yoghurt
- 200g of my gluten-free flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 50g ground almonds
- 50g polenta
- 200g caster sugar
- 3 eggs
- zest of 2 lemons
- 3 lemons
- 100g unsalted butter
- 225g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tbsp tapioca flour
- 3 egg whites
- 1.5 cups white sugar
- ½ cup water
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
- Grease and line an 8"/20cm spring bottom baking tin.
- Sift the flour and baking powder and add the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan.
- Beat the eggs and yoghurt to blend well.
- Add the butter slowly, beating all the time.
- Add the lemon zest and mix.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and blend gently.
- Spoon into the tin and bake for 30-40 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool in the tin.
- Peel the rind of the lemon with a potato peeler.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemons.
- Add everything except the flour to the top of a double boiler.
- Heat until it starts to thicken then remove the rind with a slotted spoon.
- Continue heating until much thicker.
- Mix the tapioca flour with a little cold water to dissolve it.
- Add to the saucepan and stir until it thickens and starts to congeal.
- Pour into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap so it covers the surface of the curd. Let it cool down.
- Heat the water and sugar in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and then boil gently until it reaches the soft ball stage or 116°C/240°F.
- Beat the egg whites until foamy and a little stiff.
- Slowly pour in the sugar syrup while beating.
- Continue beating until the mixture is shiny and thick. (This can take a while.)
- Remove the cake from the tin and cut off the domed top to create a flat surface.
- Place back in the tin and pour the cooled but not set lemon curd over the top.
- Pile the meringue on top and spread out.
- Place under the grill for 1 minute to brown the top. Watch it carefully or it will burn.
- Place in the fridge until the curd is completely set.
- Remove from the pan and slice into wedges.
This looks so good. I love polenta on cake, and anything with lemon curd and meringue has my vote! What a shame about the gelatine.
I have added the gelatine to the latest shopping list so let’s hope I have it for my baking in the weekend.
Congrats on the new job! I’m with you on learning new things and challenges — bring them on! Great looking cake. Lemon is one of my favorite flavors in sweets, so I’d gladly eat a piece of this. Or two. 😉
Thanks, John. I can’t imagine not learning and growing and I hope I do it until the day I die.
Two slices of the cake would be enough – it’s quite rich but has a good balance of sweet and sour, which I like.
I hope that a new job will be what you were looking for and I totally agree that life is too short to be unhappy.
So far, so good. The people at work seem pleasant and the work is good.
I love polenta! Never tried it in desserts, but now that I think of it – why not? It has a perfect texture! The lemon curd and meringue look absolutely perfect – you’re getting really good at gluten-free creativeness! Congrats on new job!
Thanks, Julia. I have another great polenta cake with blueberries which I must make. It’s moist and delicious.
What a beautiful looking cake. Good luck with the new job. It sounds like it’s off to a great start. My previous employer i-clouded me in with her so we could share the appointment calendar. While that ended up working, whatever it did caused me to lose all my contacts! xx
The cloud is a little fickle and has caused some heartaches, in particular with losing contacts. I am sticking to my simple phone so there will be no i-clouding me in. LOL.
This looks awesome!!!
Thanks, Emanuelle.
How delicious, I love lemon curd on anything.
Me too. Lemon curd is one of my favourite additions to sweet dishes.
I love lemon curd, what a lovely cake!
Thanks, Laura. Lemon and meringue together is a match made in heaven with the sweet and sour together.
This might not be quite what you planned but it certainly does look and sound great.
Thanks, Karen. That’s how new recipes are developed, from mistakes and missing ingredients, I guess. So a happy missing ingredient.
Your cake looks spectacular…love all the yummy layers. And I wouldn’t mind eating it with a spoon 🙂
PS…thanks for your sweet note. It’s been a tough few weeks. xo
Thanks, Liz. A spoon is a necessity but the cake is worth it. I hope life settles down for you soon – though that could take a while.
Suzanne, congratulations on the new job. It’s amazing how each one of us is so different and yet so similar. Am not sure if i thrive for change at the same time i hate it when things are static. being a procrastinator, i have to push myself.
Love the cake, i would love to have it with some coffee right now
Thanks, Simi. The job is going well so far. The need for change has plagued me all my life. The only thing I don’t want to change is my family. LOL.