Crumbly Cake

May 2003 - I bought the Gourmet Traveller 'Fare Exchange' recipe book for my mum for her birthday. It is full of fantastic recipes.

Today after trawling through it I decided to make this crumbly cake - tempted by the mixture of polenta, almonds, lemon and vanilla.

It did not disappoint. It is, as the recipe describes it, crumbly, quite a dry cake. This is usually the realm of overcooked, poor recipe cakes. However, the crumbly texture is what makes this cake special. A delicate slither, served with coulis made from summer strawberries (and maybe a dollop of greek yoghurt) is incredible.

The best part is the crispy edge - you must save this for last.

250g plain flour

200g fine cornmeal (polenta)

140g blanched almonds, roasted and finely chopped (I used the food processor)

200g caster sugar

125g butter, finely chopped

1/2 cup olive oil

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

icing sugar, to dust

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 26cm springform pan.

Mix together the flour, cornmeal, almonds and caster sugar.

Using your fingertips, rub int he butter, until the mixture resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Stir in the oil, and then the eggs together with the zest and vanilla.

Spoon into the baking pan and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 30-45 minutes, or until the top is golden, and a skewer comes out clean.

Stand in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool.

Serve dusted with icing sugar

Cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.