Orange and almond polenta cake

It's already the end of the weekend (mais non!) and I wish I could have one extra little day at home with mon amoureux. But no, this is real, tomorrow we've got to go back to work. So what can make us feel better and finish our weekend together on a happy note: answer?
A CAKE!
A lovely orange and almond polenta cake I discovered no sooner than on Saturday afternoon while looking at cookery books at my local bookshop.

Serves 6 to 8

For the caramel, you'll need:
90g of caster sugar
2tbs of water
20g of butter
2 oranges, skinless
For the cake, you'll need:
200g of unsalted butter, softened
200g of muscovado sugar ( or caster sugar if you want a less rich taste)
3 free range eggs
3tbs of orange blossom water
220g of ground almonds ( why not try with hazelnuts instead?)
1 small pinch of salt
1tbs of baking powder
120g of polenta
the zest of the 2 oranges
50g of sifted flour

Ready?

First, put some baking paper at the bottom of your cake dish (diameter about 25cm).
Once this is done, grate the oranges in order to extract their lovely zest. Peel them delicately then cut them in slices and again in quarters.

Now the caramel. In a saucepan melt together the caster sugar and water. Be careful as this mix is EXTREMELY hot. Just for the story, my gorgeous and adorable young sister once put her finger in some hot bubbly caramel ("just to taste") and guess the result.... yep, she did burn her finger quite badly. The moral is that she will never ever do this again and if you want my advice, don't even think of trying.
Right, back to the subject. Once your caramel starts to turn brown, remove it from the hob and add the butter (be careful, once again).
Pour your caramel in the already prepared dish. Place the orange quarters on top of it.
Turn your oven to 180ºC.

In an electric mixer, mix together the butter and sugar until you get a nice and lovely smooth texture (don't over do it though!). Add delicately the eggs, 1 by 1 and keep mixing on a slowish speed. Next add the orange zest, orange blossom water..... mix.... then the almond, polenta, baking powder, salt and flour. Once again, don't over mix the batter. Stop as soon as all the ingredients are nicely combined.
You are now almost done!

Pour the mixture on top of the caramel/ orange filled dish.
Place in the oven for about 45min. Use the blade of a knife to check if your cake is cooked inside: it should come out clean and dry.

Tip: We tried this cake on the night I made it and again the day after. If you think you can resist the call of sugar and the smell of a freshly baked cake, try to eat it the day after. It's much nicer.

Adapted from the Ottolenghi cook book http://www.ottolenghi.co.uk/blog/