< Summer
< Summer Food

Marshmallow Snowballs
Love Heart Biscuits
Blackberry and Apple Slices
Gooseberry Fool
Cherry Picking
Frozen Bananas
Lemon Drizzle Cake
Raspberry & Apple Palmiers
Making a Giant Teacake
Plum Squares
Bottled Fruit
Blackberry Polenta Cake
Trifle in a 'Trifle'
Pears in Lemon Juice
Anna-Louise's Redcurrant Tart
Baby BBQ
Zinging Home-Made Lemonade
Mini-Cooked Breakfast
Butterfly Fruit
Blackcurrant Coulis
Lemon Ricotta with Summer Fruits and Blackcurrant Coulis
Dough Balls
Kids' Summer Cup
Primrose Salad
Food by Firelight
Easy Cheese Soufflé
Elderflower Fizz
Zany Pavlova
Herb Pikelets and Orange Caviar
Buttermilk Cake
Maypole Cake
Flowers to Eat
Elderflower Cordial
Popcorn
Junket
Vanilla Ice-Cream with Orange Toffee and Cowslips

Blackberry Polenta Cake

My sister was recently very disparaging about polenta, saying it was one of those pointless and trendy ingredients that everyone suddenly goes mad about. But I love cakes with a bit of polenta to add bite and texture. And this one is a stunner.

175g unsalted butter
175g caster sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
Half a tsp good-quality vanilla extract
125g ground almonds
75g polenta
Half a tsp baking powder
250g blackberries


Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C/Gas Mark 4. Line the base of a 15cm spring-form cake tin with greaseproof paper, and grease the sides.

Beat the butter and sugar together until they turn light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat again, then stir in the ground almonds, polenta and baking powder. Gently add the blackberries, and spoon the mixture into the cake tin.

Bake for about 55 to 65 mins until a skewer comes out clean. The top may scorch, so check after 35 mins and cover with greaseproof paper or foil as necessary. When cooked, leave the cake in the tin to cool for 15 mins, then turn out on to a wire rack. Serve dusted with icing sugar, with extra blackberries on the side.