Slow Like Honey

What is it about lemon, ricotta, and honey that remind me of springtime? All I know is that throwing those three items together gets me all excited for the spring season. After reading this article at the San Francisco Chronicle about the use of ricotta cheese in springtime desserts, I was even more intrigued about using this wonderfully light cheese in my own kitchen. Coincidentally, ­Caitlin picked a Fluted Polenta and Ricotta cake as ­this week’s Tuesday’s With Dorie pick.

Talk about perfect timing, right? Apparently, ricotta cheese is commonly used in desserts and all kinds of meals in kitchens throughout Italy, mainly in the Southern region. While I have never been to Italy (it’s next on my list) I could easily picture this cake in Italian and Mediterranean kitchens as either a sweet breakfast or as a light dessert paired with a tasty wine.

Just because I live on this side of Atlantic Ocean doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy these ricotta desserts though. From ricotta cheesecakes to honey sweetened ricotta cheese with sliced fruit, I intend on using this cheese from now own.

Fragrant like the Riviera Yogurt Cake I made a while ago but lighter than the perfection pound cake I made here from Dorie and the other by Ina Garten, this cake will forever go down as one of the most addictive cakes I’ve baked. You taste one bit and the fragrant aromas from the orange zest hit you right away. The light and moist crumb from the ricotta cheese dissolves on your tongue while the yellow cornmeal golden crust crunches away, almost like a sugary sand texture that blends beautifully with the soft insides. And the occasional raisin adds a surprising chew to the cake.

Suddenly, you are swooning away, pining for another bite. And another. And another. Until you look down at your now empty plate and go, “WHOA! Where did that go?” Seriously, it is that good.

I should have made the whole batch because it was that good, but I thought to play it on the safe side and cut the recipe in half. I totally kicked myself in the butt for it later though. I used my mini 5-inch springform pan and instead of figs, I substituted dried raisins. I soaked the raisins in some black tea that I had brewed before just to moisten them up and the raisins swelled with the hot tea after 5 minutes. And instead of lemon zest, I used my fresh and in season navel oranges to zest up my cake.

I amended the baking time, increasing it quite a bit until the top of my cake turned golden brown. Because I didn’t use the recommended fluted tart pan, I knew that my cake would need to spend a little more time in the oven. Instead of being flatter and wider, my cake turned out quite tall and deep, which I prefer anyways. I’ve read that some think this cake is too sweet, but I didn’t find it overly sweet. Although I will admit that I used more honey and less sugar than the recipe called for.

I savored this cake in many different ways. First, I ate it after a light dinner, fully equipped with some whipped cream on the side and some fresh fruit. I wrapped the cake up tightly and saved it for the next day, which Dorie recommends as the flavor of the cake deepens. Sure enough, the cake was even better as I ate it for breakfast. The crumb tightened up a little, but it didn’t loose its soft texture. This cake will totally go down in the books as a replacer for the heavier pound cakes I’ve made, especially when the weather warms up and the last thing you want is a dense cake that will weigh you down. Be sure to check out the rest of the experiences with this cake over here.

A bit of advice: while eating this cake, close your eyes and imagine yourself miles away, maybe sitting on the beach in the Mediterranean or in a small cafe in an Italian village. You can almost hear the hustle and bustle of the village or the soft waves crashing.

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
from Baking: From my home to yours

Ingredients:
16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed (I used 1/4 cup of dried raisins)
1 cup medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup ricotta
1/3 cup tepid water
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup honey
Grated zest of 1 lemon (I used an orange)
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into bits and chilled
2 large eggs

Directions:
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Butter a 10-1/2-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat. (Don’t skip this step!)
If your figs are the least bit hard, put them in a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry. If the figs are larger than a bite-size, snip them in half.
Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder and salt together.
Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth. With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey and lemon zest and beat until light. Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated. You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.
Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs. Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan. Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes. Cool to warm, or cool completely.