Name: New England spider cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Yield: 6
Ingredients: 500 ml (2 cups) milk; 60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice; 165 gm (3/4 cup) caster sugar; 130 gm coarse polenta; 110 gm (3/4 cup) plain flour; ¾ tsp baking powder; 2 eggs; Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste; Pinch of ground cinnamon, plus extra to serve; 20 gm butter, diced; 200 ml pouring cream; Pure icing sugar, for dusting (optional); Maple Syrup, to serve

New England spider cake

A dense and delicious number, this skillet cake has a just-set cream top that's crying out for a generous drizzle of maple syrup.

Serves 6

Prep

15M

Cook

Total

1H 15M

If you’re after an ethereally light and fluffy cake, this one’s not for you. A dense and delicious number, it has a just-set cream top that’s crying out for a generous drizzle of maple syrup. And who are we to refuse? In New England this is served with crisp bacon for breakfast, but we like it as a dig-in dessert, too.

Ingredients

500 ml (2 cups) milk

60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice

165 gm (3/4 cup) caster sugar

130 gm coarse polenta

110 gm (3/4 cup) plain flour

¾ tsp baking powder

2 eggs

Scraped seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Pinch of ground cinnamon, plus extra to serve

20 gm butter, diced

200 ml pouring cream

Pure icing sugar, for dusting (optional)

Maple Syrup, to serve

Method

1.Preheat oven to 170C. Combine milk and lemon juice in a bowl and leave to curdle (2-3 minutes). Mix sugar, polenta, flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt in a bowl to combine. Add eggs, vanilla, cinnamon and curdled milk and whisk until smooth.

2.Melt butter in a 30cm-diameter ovenproof cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add batter, then pour cream into the centre. Transfer to the oven and bake until golden brown and set (50 minutes to 1 hour). Stand for 20 minutes, then dust with extra cinnamon and icing sugar, and serve warm topped with maple syrup.