Brown Butter Polenta Cake With Maple Caramel Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 9" diameter cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper; butter parchment. Melt 3/4 cup butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then cook, stirring often, until butter foams, then browns (do not let burn), 5-8 minutes. Pour into a medium bowl, let cool. Chill butter until cold. Fit a clean medium saucepan with thermometer and bring maple syrup to a boil over medium-high heat; cook until thermometer registers 265 (syrup will be thicker and a shade darker). Pour into prepared pan and spread with an offset spatula or a spoon to cover bottom; let cool (syrup will harden as it sits). Whisk almond flour, polenta, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat chilled brown butter and 3/4 cup sugar until very pale and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Reduce speed to low, gradually add dry ingredients, and mix just to combine. Scrape batter into pan; smooth top. Bake until cake is golden brown and pulls away from sides of pan, 50-55 minutes. Transger pan to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan 20 minutes. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely. Using an electric mixer, beat heavy cream, sour cream and remaining 1 tbsp sugar in medium bowl until soft peaks form. Serve cake with whipped cream mixture. DO Ahead: Cake can be baked 1 day ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.

Steps:

• In a saucepan combine the milk, water, bay and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a boil over low heat and season generously with salt. Take the seasoning to the edge of too salty. To do this you MUST taste as you go. Polenta acts as a salt eraser, if you don't season abundantly here you will never recover from it.
• Once the liquid is at a boil and is seasoned appropriately, sprinkle in the polenta whisking constantly. Once the polenta is combined switch over to a wooden spoon and stir frequently until the polenta has become thick. Taste the polenta to see if it has cooked through. If it still feels mealy and grainy, add some more milk or water and cook it to a thick consistency. Repeat this process, as needed, until the polenta feels smooth on your tongue, about 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and stir in the chopped sage and mascarpone.
• Line a 7 by 7-inch square pan with plastic wrap. Pour the polenta into the prepared pan. Cover the top with more plastic smoothed onto the surface of the polenta. Chill in the refrigerator until needed. (All of this can totally be done ahead of time, like yesterday! Cool!)
• When ready to use, remove the polenta from the pan and cut into desired shapes. Coat a nonstick saute pan with olive oil and bring to medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot and starting to smoke just a little, add the polenta shapes. Cook the polenta on both sides and finish by sprinkling with a little bit grated Parmigiano. Transfer to a serving platter and serve while hot.
• What a corncake!!!!

Steps:

• In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beating well after each addition. Pour into three greased and floured 9-in. round baking pans., Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pans to wire racks to cool completely. Cut each cake horizontally into two layers. , For caramel sauce, melt brown sugar in a heavy skillet over low heat for about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat; set aside., In a heavy saucepan, combine the sugar, milk and egg yolks. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add melted brown sugar. Cook and stir until a thermometer reads 238° (soft-ball stage). Remove from the heat; stir in the butter and vanilla until the mixture is smooth and spreadable., Place bottom layer on a serving plate, quickly top with 1/3 cup caramel sauce. Repeat layers 4 times. Top with the sixth cake layer. Dust cake with confectioners' sugar if desired. , ,