Orange polenta cake is an unusual cake. Polenta is essentially cornmeal or maize. It has a creamy texture and is popular throughout Italy. The beauty of this recipe lies in its lack of adornment. Yet, despite its plainness, it has a wonderful flavour. It is a great summer afternoon treat and keeps really well in an airtight container for up to a week. The flavour of the rosemary works really well with the orange and the syrup helps the cake to stay moist. For variety, you could try limes or lemons instead of the oranges.

Panna cotta is the Italian for cooked cream. We often have this recipe on the restaurant menu for Sunday lunch as it is light and summery. Rhubarb is currently in season, but I vary this with other berries, usually bought from Pat Clarke in Stamullen. I love making this with champagne rhubarb – the sweetest rhubarb of all. It comes very early in spring and has slim, tender stalks.

The buttermilk cuts through the sweetness and gives the panna cotta a lovely sharpness to the taste. Sometimes for a completely different taste I use coconut milk instead.

Happy cooking!

Orange polenta cake with rosemary syrup

Serves eight to 10

175g (6oz) of polenta (ground cornmeal)

50g (2oz) of plain flour

1½ tsp of baking powder

¼ tsp of salt

5 tbsp of plain yoghurt

5 tbsp of lemon-flavoured Donegal Rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing

Finely grated rind of two oranges

2 tbsp of freshly squeezed orange juice (or lemon or lime juice)

2 eggs, plus two egg whites

400g (14oz) of caster sugar

2 branches of fresh rosemary, plus extra sprigs to decorate

Raspberries and Greek yoghurt, to serve

  • Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark four. Sift the polenta, flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Place the yoghurt, oil, orange rind and juice into a jug and stir until combined.

  • In a separate bowl, place the eggs and egg whites with half of the sugar and beat for a few minutes until they have a creamy texture.

  • Beat in the yoghurt mixture until smooth and then fold in the dry ingredients until just combined – don’t mix it too much.

  • Pour the batter mixture into a 1.2-litre, lightly oiled loaf tin, lined with non-stick parchment paper. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a thin skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

  • Meanwhile, place the remaining sugar in a pan with 200ml (7fl oz) of water and the rosemary branches. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Leave to cool completely, then strain through a sieve.

  • When the cake is cooked, place on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes, then invert and peel off the parchment paper. Prick all over with a thin skewer or toothpick and drizzle over half of the rosemary syrup so that it completely soaks into the cake. Leave to cool completely. Keep the remaining rosemary syrup in the fridge until ready to use.

  • To serve, cut the cake into slices and arrange on plates. Scatter around the raspberries and drizzle around some more of the syrup. Add dollops of yoghurt and decorate with rosemary sprigs.

    • Panna cotta with rhubarb

    Serves six

    4 gelatine leaves (a scant 15g/½ oz)

    400ml (14fl oz) of cream

    200ml (7fl oz) of buttermilk

    100g (4oz) of caster sugar

    1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped out

    For the poached rhubarb:

    300ml (½ pint) of red wine

    175g (6oz) of caster sugar

    1 cinnamon stick

    ½ vanilla pod, split with seeds scraped out

    1 tsp of finely grated fresh root ginger

    450g (1lb) of rhubarb, washed, trimmed and cut into 7.5cm (3in) pieces

    Fresh mint sprigs, to serve

  • To make the panna cotta, put the gelatine leaves into a bowl of cold water and leave them to soak for 10 minutes. Put the cream, buttermilk, caster sugar and scraped out vanilla seeds into a pan and slowly bring up to the boil. Take the pan off the heat, gently squeeze the soaked gelatine leaves dry and add them to the pan, whisking continuously, until they have dissolved. Strain the mixture through a sieve into a measuring jug.

  • Divide the mixture equally between 6ml x 150ml (¼ pint) dariole moulds, or ramekins, place them on a baking tray and leave them to set in the fridge for at least three hours, or up to two days is fine.

  • To prepare the poached rhubarb, place the red wine in a pan with the sugar, cinnamon and vanilla seeds. Pour in 300ml (½ pint) of water and bring to the boil. Reduce the liquid by half, stirring occasionally.

  • Add the ginger and rhubarb to the reduced liquid and return to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for three to five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is just tender. (The cooking time will depend on the ripeness of the rhubarb.) Be careful when you are stirring not to break up the rhubarb pieces as it is important that they keep their shape. Remove the rhubarb from the heat and leave to cool in the juices. It keeps very well in the fridge in a sealed container for up to two days.

  • Unmould the panna cottas by dipping them briefly into hot water and arrange on plates. Spoon the poached rhubarb alongside and decorate with mint sprigs to serve.