This is one of those slightly Italianate cakes in form, by which I mean it is intentionally shallow and unspongey. It’s meant to be eaten, cut into wedges, as pudding – and the cornmeal makes it crumble deliciously into a cream and berry lined spoon. In fact, summer always needs plain, unshowy cakes like these: the perfect vehicle for red-glowing seasonal fruit. Orange itself is hardly associated exclusively with summer, indeed far from it, but its flavour seems to make any berry more intense. For this reason, in deep midwinter, I add the grated zest of an orange to a plate of frozen summer berries as they thaw; serve them thus, with this cake, whenever mood calls for a little summer lightness and the produce in the shops will not oblige.
You can get the orange oil at most supermarkets these days, but if you can’t get hold of some just add more zest. It won’t give such a pronounced orange flavour, but it will still be good.
250g soft unsalted butter
125g fine (yellow) cornmeal, plus some for lining tin
175g caster sugar
4 eggs
60ml plain yoghurt
zest of 1 orange, juice of half
half teaspoon orange oil
50g plain flour
1 and a half teaspoons baking powder
to serve:
raspberries, or mixed summer berries, and crème fraîche, mascarpone or whipped double cream
Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.
Butter a 23cm Springform tin and line it with baking parchment, shake some cornmeal into the tin and let it stick to the sides and bottom. Tap out any excess.
Using an electric mixer for ease, beat the butter until light and add the sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the yoghurt, orange juice then zest and orange oil. Fold in the cornmeal, flour and baking powder and blend everything together well before pouring into the Springform tin.
Bake for about 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and springs back when pressed lightly with your finger.
Let it cool slightly on a rack before springing the tin open and letting the cake cool completely.
Serves 8–10 with the generous addition of berries and cream or mascarpone.