Olive Oil Polenta Cake with Grilled Apricots & Raspberries

As much as I love summer cookouts, when I think “grill” I often think “meat.” And yeah, I like a good turkey burger or tasty chicken kebab, but you know that my heart belongs to just about anything falling into the category of “dessert.” Every party needs a little something sweet, and there’s no need to turn off the grill when it’s time to serve dessert at your grilling get-togethers this summer!

Thanks to my friends at Colavita, I had an arsenal of amazing, authentic Italian goodies to inspire me as I pondered ways to move dessert prep from oven to grill. No, really. I mean a triple-decker care package of foodie love.

Olive Oil Polenta Cake is served up with grilled apricots and raspberries that have taken a soak in fragrant raspberry vinegar. A scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of tangy balsamic glace and some fresh basil complement the flavors and work together to create a fantastic balance — sweet, savory, tart and creamy.

This cake is just about foolproof; ideal for last minute baking. The texture of the cake is intriguing with its slightly crackly crust and moist chewy interior, polenta adding a little crunch and a hint of cornbread-like flavor to the mix.

The apricots become slightly soft and caramelized when grilled, and they are nothing short of heavenly when eaten with a bite of vanilla ice cream and balsamic glace. {If you’ve never tried ice cream with vinegar, I highly recommend it!}

Don’t limit yourself to burgers and hot dogs at your next backyard barbecue. Save a space for some sweetness on those grates, and some room for this cake in your belly!

Get $1 off Colavita products or 15% off your online order with this offer. 

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Colavita. As always, all opinions seen here are my own!

Olive Oil Polenta Cake with Grilled Apricots & Raspberries

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Course Dessert

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 50 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Servings 8 Servings

Author Dianna Muscari

Ingredients  

Fruit

• 2 tablespoons Colavita Raspberry Wine Vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 teaspoon basil finely chopped {plus extra for garnish}
• 4 apricots {or peaches} halved, pits removed
• 4 ounces raspberries
• Colavita Balsamic Glace

Cake

• 2 eggs
• ¾ cup sugar
• ⅓ cup Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ cups Colavita Fine Italian "00" Flour
• ¼ cup Colavita Polenta
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Optional: Powdered sugar for garnish Vanilla Ice Cream for Serving

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a cake pan* by greasing liberally with butter. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together raspberry vinegar, olive oil, honey and basil. Add halved apricots and raspberries to mixture and gently toss to coat. Set aside while preparing cake.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together eggs and sugar until pale. Slowly stream in the olive oil until fully incorporated. Mix in vanilla extract.
• Whisk together flour, polenta, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer running at low speed, slowly incorporate dry ingredients into the wet mixture until fully incorporated.
• Pour batter into prepared cake pan and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the top is browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely before cutting.

For Fruit

• Scoop apricots from vinegar mixture. Heat a grill or grill pan to high heat. Place apricots or peaches cut side down onto grill and cook until slightly softened and grill marks have formed, about 5-7 minutes.

To Serve

• Place a piece of cake on plate. Top with a grilled apricot and raspberries and a scoop of vanilla ice cream if desired. Drizzle with balsamic glace and sprinkle of basil.

Dianna's Tips

*I used a small, 6 inch cake pan for this recipe. The cake rose above the rim but did not spill over the sides, though I did place the cake pan on a baking sheet just to be safe. If you use a standard 9 inch, you may need to reduce the baking time.