Lemon polenta cake

Ingredients

 150g ground almonds
 150g fine polenta (not instant)
 200g caster sugar
 100ml light olive oil
 250ml plain soy yogurt at room temperature
 2 tsp baking powder
 0.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
 0.25 tsp fine sea salt
 2 large lemons at room temperature
 20g icing sugar

 Thinly sliced strawberries for serving (optional)

Equipment

A 20cm springform cake tin

Instructions

1. Line and lightly grease the sides of the cake tin.

2. Measure ground almonds and polenta into a bowl, add the baking powder, bicarb, and salt, and fork to mix.

3. Pour the oil into a wide-necked large measuring jug, add the sugar and finely grate the zest of the 2 lemons on top. Stir together for a minute, then beat in the yogurt until completely incorporated.

4. Now simply pur your jug of wet ingredients into your bowl of dry ingredients, making sure everything is completely mixed.

5. Scrape into the prepared tin, and bake in the oven for 40 minutes at 180°C/160°C Fan, until the cake is beginning to nudge away from the sides of the tine, and a cake tester comes out clean. Start making the syrup as soon as the cake goes in the oven.

6. Put the icing sugar into a small suacepan and add 20ml of juice from your zested lemons. Heat, whisking gently to beat out any lumps, just until the sugar's dissolved into the juice, and pour straightaway into a little jug to cool.

7. When the cake's cooked, transfer it to a wire rack and, with your cake tester, prick it all over, going in deep, to help the syrup run down int othe cake. Pour or spoon the syrup over, tyring to be patient, so the syrup doesn't just make a large pond on top.

8. Leave the cake, drenched with it's syrup, to cool and, before unclipping, run a slim palette knife around the edges to help dislodge it where the syrup has stuck to the tin. Servce the cake plain, with the strawberries or berries of your choice.