Peach Polenta Cake
- Total Time
- 2½ hours
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
Advertisement
Ingredients
Yield:12 Servings
- 2¼cups/470 grams sugar
- 2sticks plus 6 tablespoons/305 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 to 8peeled, pitted and halved peaches, nectarines or plums, or use a mix
- 1½cups/230 grams slivered almonds
- 1scant cup/230 grams polenta, or cornmeal (see note)
- ½cup plus 1 tablespoon/70 grams all-purpose flour
- ½teaspoon kosher salt
- 1teaspoon baking powder
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 4eggs
- Crème fraîche, to serve (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (12 servings)
751 calories; 48 grams fat; 24 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 77 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 47 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 136 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 300 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Cut one long strip of parchment paper to line the sides of the pan so that the paper reaches all the way around the pan with no gap at the seam, and stands about 3-inches high.
- Step 2
Place 1 cup/200 grams of the sugar in a saucepan with just enough water to cover, stir well and place over medium heat. When sugar turns the color of maple syrup, take off the heat and add 2 tablespoons/35 grams of the butter. Swirl to incorporate and pour into the cake pan. Place the fruit flesh-side down in a single layer all over the caramel, cutting a few pieces smaller if necessary to make it all fit. You can cram the fruit; it will shrink as it cooks.
- Step 3
Add almonds and polenta to a food processor and process until fine, then set aside in a large bowl with the flour, salt, baking powder and lemon zest. In the same food processor, cream the remaining butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, making sure each is emulsified before adding the next. Scrape the mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture and fold into the ingredients until smooth. Spoon the batter on top of the fruit and even out the top. Bake for about 2 hours, or until the the top is golden in color, crackled and firm to the touch. Set the cake pan on a rack to cool.
- Step 4
Once the cake has completely cooled, loosen the sides with the tip of a knife and flip it over in one quick motion, directly onto a serving platter. Holding onto the upside down cake pan and the platter at the same time, shake and bump the pan a little, if necessary, to release the cake, before lifting the pan away. Gently peel away any parchment paper. Slice and serve as is, or with a little crème fraîche on the side.
Tip
- For a more rustic cake, with a little bite, use coarse polenta. For a more tender crumb, use finely ground polenta.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Rachael
Are the sugar and flour quantities mixed up? 741 calories for a slice of cake??
Michael
1/4 + 1 tbsp of all purpose flour is NOT equivalent to 70g, it's much closer to 40-45g (a cup is 125-140, depending on how you scoop and level). Please recheck these numbers.
Alice
It seems to me that using a springform pan would make life a lot simpler when it's time to get the cake out of the pan.
Jen
Almond flour is what you're making with the almonds in the food processor. Just be sure to note that 1 1/4 cups of almonds probably translates to a scant cup of almond flour.
dimmerswitch
Rachel: I think the sugar and flour quantities are correct, not mixed up as you ask. A cup of the sugar goes to make the caramel. The remainder gets creamed with the butter in making the batter. The wheat flour is just a little of the dry 'flour' ingredients; others being polenta and the almonds turned to flour as well. As you point out, this is calorie dense. So isn't it a good thing we're not eating daily and just enjoying a time or two?
Lauri
"Most of its sweetness comes from cut peaches . . ." I'd say most of its sweetness comes from more than 2 cups of sugar. It still looks lovely. I'll try making it with less sugar and report back.
M.
This is not the most well-written recipe from the NYT. There's no reason not to use almond meal + polenta eliminating that step in the food processor and the electric mixer works much better for the rest of it. also the recipe should clarify it will take a while for the sugar to reduce into a caramel to allow for not getting ahead while that step takes place. Lastly the quantities are off for a home baker not using a scale.
melissa
I loved the texture but found the cake overly sweet, so next time will halve the sugar. Also added a dash of cardamon, which I love with peaches.
Rita
Can one substitute corn meal or polenta?
Katie
Easy caramel? Use the 1 c of sugar but only 1/4 c water plus a spritz of lemon. I used a springform that I buttered as directed but used tin foil rather than parchment. Popped out easily.
JD
I used the same weight in almond flour, for convenience, and it turned out very well.
SC
I think that the caramel bottom (top) of the cake is not suited to a springform pan because of increased likelihood of leakage.
NYCmom
This is one of the most poorly written recipes I have seen-- and I've used hundreds from NYT cooking! 1.#1- making caramel: this requires a lot more precision than "when sugar turns the color of maple syrup...." A candy thermometer is essential. What's the target? Also, how long it should it take? The instruction is so minimal, you'd expect it to be quick-- but it is NOT. 2. I used almond meal. Why use expensive sliced almonds to grind? Use whole. tbc...
Ellen N.
If you add butter to the caramel as soon as it's the color of maple syrup it won't keep getting darker.
Cie
Reading the recipe, it felt like too much cake for me. So I halved the cake part, made the topping as written. It still rose to quite a presentable height in my 9 inch pan. FYI, used the metric weight measurements given to achieve the 1/2 batch.
stephanie
This was delicious! I followed the directions easily without a problem. The cake was surprisingly not too sweet with a lovely corse texture from polenta. I used a springform, but it leaked some of the caramel. Next time I’ll line it with tinfoil instead of parchment. I will definitely make this again and can’t wait to share it with friends!
Stella
This is my 2nd time. The recipe does have some weird inconsistencies. I used 1 cup sugar for the cake batter + 1 cup for the caramel. Next time will try to reduce the cake batter sugar further. 4 peaches was more than enough. I used 1 cup of polenta,1 1/2 cups of almond flour, 1/2 cup flour. The parchment "collar" works well. At 60 minutes, I started to check every 10 minutes, I took it out when it was very golden brown, about 1 hour 30 minutes. It turned out lovely + has great flavor.
Tara
2 cups of sugar used total. Did not mill the sliced almonds and it was perfect.
Tim S
An unmitigated disaster. After putting it in the oven the sugar began dripping out of the pan within 15 minutes. Had to call it off with burning sugar smell now permeating the apartment. Hopefully I can rescue the beautiful peaches.
beth
badly written riecipe i admit i read it wrong when i used2 1/4 cups to cream with the butter but wouldnt it be better to separate the 1 cup for the caramel from the 1 1/4 for the cake? why not make it easier? This is a lot of work to be spoiled because directions are made difficult
NYCmom
I've made this cake a couple times, and it is always a big hit. I use a springform pan-- and whatever the freshest fruit around is. getting the carmelized top right is a little tricky-- but the cake is easy, dramatic, and delicious. Definitely a keeper!
katsooy
This was sooooo scrumptious! Thanks to other comments..,using springform lined with foil and then parchment made it easy to remove from pan. It took almost the full 2 hours to cook and was plenty moist. It took over an hour to cool, so allow lots of time. I used only 1 cup of sugar in batter part and that was the right sweetness.
Gail M
I should have read through all the notes first. A "scant cup" of polenta is definitely not 230 grams. I compromised at 170 grams but that was way more than a cup. Also "no gap" means overlap and double up 'cuz otherwise your batter will breach the sides and make a mess. Think I'll try the spring-form-and-aluminum-foil method next time. Still tasted good though!
Miranda
This is an exceptional cake! Gets better the next day and the next...I preferred it topped with Greek yogurt to cut the sweetness.
YlNak
Place a baking sheet on a rack below to catch the caramel and juice which seeps out, sadly the bottom of my oven became covered with this and I had to switch to my convection oven. I used a 9 inch cake pan and the parchment paper as instructed.
CoopersGeorge
I love King and everyone loved this recipe. Took some time but was worth the effort and I came out looking like a star.
MCMC
I was very disappointed with the results of this recipe. A great idea, but I found the instructions very difficult to follow, and my cake was very disappointing as a result.
CoopersGeorge
Followed the recipe exactly. Straight fire. Everyone loved it, even without the crème fraîche. If i had to choose only one restaurant to go to the rest of my life it would be King.
Luke
Do not use a springform pan. Thought I was clever, gave it a try, and lost all my caramel sauce out the bottom in the oven. Also, this recipe produces a shocking amount of batter, so be sure your 9" cake round is deeeeeeeep.
Anna B
Fantastic, though tricky and time consuming. Go by weight, not by cups!
Private notes are only visible to you.
Advertisement
