Stef’s Own Lemon Rosemary Olive Oil Cake

The rosemary in my window box is shooting ever upwards rather than sideways, so I thought I’d give it a trim and try drying some of it. It was sitting on the bench for a week, until the weekend I remembered seeing rosemary, lemon and olive oil hanging together in a few cakes around the web, which I’d mentally flagged as an unusual idea to try. This is my version, the first cake I’ve made completely from my head rather than a recipe! And managed to get the quantities right so it didn’t sag or nothin’.

Note I like strong flavours, so if you’re not so keen, you can dial down the rosemary and lemon a bit. For some people (Dan) the rosemary is too unusual, but that means I get to eat more of it. However I think the cake would work without rosemary as a simple lemon cake too. The polenta adds a bit of texture, if you subbed in flour instead it would probably make for a softer crumb.

Mix together:
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup polenta
2 tbsp of rosemary (or to taste)

Make a well, and pour in:
2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (for the flavour)
2 tbsp arrowroot or cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp water to dissolve (this is a good binding agent)
1 tbsp baking powder mixed with 1/2 cup of soy (or other preferred) milk to dissolve and get a bit frothy (raising agent)
Juice and grated zest of 1 lemon with 1/2 cup of preferred milk and sit for a sec til it curdles (another raising agent)

Mix until just combined.

Bake in a 20cm or so square pan (or try whatever you like, I’m sure it’ll work maybe just take a bit longer) at 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F for around 30 mins, it’ll crack a little on top but not rise terribly much.

It is particularly lemony when fresh out of the oven. I didn’t get a photo before I’d already cut a slice:

From Look! I made it myself!

Nom.