In his already celebrated new cookbook, “Fruit Cake: Recipes for Curious Bakers” (William Morrow Cookbooks, $32.50), author and food stylist Jason Schreiber uses fruit to boost the flavor and moisture in traditional cakes and desserts.
His techniques and new combinations, like this Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins, expand and elevate our relationship with the retro Christmas cake. Liqueur? Yes. Fruit? Yes. Candied green bits? Heavens, no.
Pan Goo, by the way, is a mixture of equal parts flour, oil and shortening, whipped together.
Polenta Pound Cake with Spiced Mandarins
Serves 8 to 10
Pound cake ingredients:
Pan Goo, for greasing the pan (equal parts flour, oil and shortening)
1¾ cups all-purpose flour
1¾ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons plus ¼ cup quick-cooking (but not instant) polenta, divided
2 tablespoons orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec
¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (from 1 orange)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Spiced mandarin ingredients:
5 large mandarin oranges
4 teaspoons finely grated orange zest, preferably Valencia (from 2 oranges)
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice, preferably Valencia (from 2 oranges)
2 tablespoons orange liqueur, such as Triple Sec
2 whole cloves
1 star anise pod
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and seeds scraped out
Directions:
Heat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the center position. Brush a standard 8½- by 4½-inch loaf pan with Pan Goo.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and 2 tablespoons polenta. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup water and the orange liqueur to a boil over medium heat. Sprinkle in the remaining ¼ cup polenta, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon and letting the polenta fall at such a rate that you can see the individual granules as they tumble through the air. Return the mixture to a boil and continue cooking, stirring constantly, until you can see the bottom of the pan in the wake of the spoon, about 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
Whisk in the butter a few pieces at a time, until all of it has melted. The mixture will be very greasy. Whisk in the sugar, which will cool down the mixture so the eggs don’t scramble. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, followed by the zest and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture with the wooden spoon, then transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Tap the pan on the counter a few times to dislodge any large bubbles.
Bake until the cake is golden brown, springs back when gently pressed and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 75 minutes. Tent it with foil after an hour, if the top is darkening too quickly.
Transfer the pan to a wire rack. Allow the cake to rest in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, then carefully unmold it onto the rack to cool completely.
While the cake is in the oven, make the spiced mandarins: Peel the mandarin oranges and separate the segments, removing every last bit of pith you can. Place in a medium bowl. Add the orange zest and juice, orange liqueur, cloves, star anise, vanilla seeds and pod. Let the flavors meld together for at least 1 hour. (The spiced mandarins can be made the day before and refrigerated.)
Serve slices of the pound cake with the mandarins and their juice. The moisture from the polenta keeps this cake fresh, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 1 week.
— From Jason Schreiber’s “Fruit Cake: Recipes for the Curious Baker” (William Morrow Cookbooks; $32.50)
