Amor polenta recipe

Amor polenta is a typical recipe of Lombard pastry, precisely from the city of Varese. Made with corn flour and almond flour, this cake is easy and quick to prepare, excellent for a snack or breakfast.

PREPARATION: 20 minutes
DIFFICULTY: easy

Amor polenta is a sweet from Varese. The original was born in the first post-war period from the imagination of pastry chef Antonio Zamberletti (known as Carlo) to pay homage to his city. Local excellence and zero-kilometer products were not yet in fashion, but the ingredients chosen were those typical of the area, above all corn flour. Since then, amor polenta, or sweet polenta, continues to be loved thanks to its delicacy and simplicity. It is also easy to make at home, provided you have the proper mold, similar to the one used for Plumcake but fluted.

This version includes wheat flour, corn flakes, almond flour and the slightly vintage aroma of Strega liqueur. The result is a soft cake, with a slightly grainy texture that can be enjoyed with pleasure at any time of the day, from breakfast to snack, to after dinner with a cup of coffee.

Corn flour gives cakes an unmistakable color and a unique flavor. In confectionery is preferred the use of cornmeal or fumetto: thin or very thin grain. In some cases, however, for shortbread and cookies in particular, it is possible to add a part of bramata flour which gives a particularly rustic and pleasing texture. There are more than one regional confectionery specialties made with corn flour: the Venetian Zaeti, for example, or the Piedmontese Paste di meliga.

INGREDIENTS:

110 g soft butter
110 g caster sugar
1 egg
2 yolks
30 g 00 flour
30 g corn flour
25 g cornflour
25 g almond flour
half a sachet of baking powder
the seeds of 1 vanilla bean
2 tablespoons Strega liqueur
1 pinch of salt
icing sugar to decorate

HOW TO PREPARE AMOR POLENTA:

1. To make the amor polenta, whip the soft butter and sugar into a cream. Add the two egg yolks and the whole egg one at a time, making sure you have incorporated the previous one well before adding the next. Also add a pinch of salt.

2. Mix well and add the flours, vanilla seeds and baking powder. Work with a hand whisk or a couple of electric whips until the mixture is perfectly blended and finally add the Strega liqueur. Amalgamate this last ingredient and then transfer the mixture into the fluted mould, previously buttered and floured, and bake in a preheated oven at 180°.