MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL!
That’s all that needs be said this morning – here’s our breakfast cake this year!
The Rosemary and Pomegranate Christmas Cake
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tbsp coarse ground corn meal
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
zest of one large lemon
1 cup milk, heated to scalding with 1 large piece rosemary, cut in half, cooled
6 tbsp sour cream
2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
8 tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 eggs, room temp
1 cup walnuts, toasted and cooled and chopped
pomegranate seeds from one half pomegranate
1/4 cup Rosemary sugar syrup*
Preheat oven to 325F. Butter a 9 1/2″ springform pan and dust surface with muscavado sugar. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt and lemon zest.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, almond extract, milk and butter. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until blended with a wooden spoon.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean and the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan. Cool cake completely in the pan. Remove the collar and set upon a cake pedestal.
To decorate the cake, mix the toasted walnuts with 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tbsp lemon zest which you have rubbed into the sugar with your fingertips. Arrange the walnut mixture over the top of the cake. Top with the pomegranate seeds and drizzle the Rosemary syrup over all.
