Un voleur dans la cuisine – Mini gâteaux de polenta à la vanille et pêches rôties au rhum

Who said that polenta only needs to be eaten in savory dishes? I was so excited about this dessert, that I have been thinking about it for days. Let’s also enjoy the peaches while they last, soon they’ll no longer be available. I cannot believe it’s already September.

In France, we have some semolina based desserts like this one (gâteau à la semoule) that the kids usually love (well adults too). So I somehow decided to play with polenta. You need a medium to fine grind. I don’t like to use the coarse kind that much. This polenta has such a fragrant vanilla and milky flavor, I could not stop eating it from the pot. The peach is roasted in honey and rum, which makes every bits a real delight. If you combine on your spoon some polenta cake, peach, mascarpone and run sauce, you might end up being addicted to it.

The peaches need to be ripe but still firm so they don’t overcook quickly while in the oven.

While I was playing with my dessert, I got caught on the phone for a short time, I did not realized that someone was stealing my crumbs. My dog Enzo is as obsessed with food as I am. Of course, a dog being a dog, his obsessions limit themselves too eating food rather than preparing it. I think if I were a dog, I would be just like him. While distracted on the phone, I did not see Enzo, open the kitchen cabinet, and steel the breadcrumbs jar. He opened the lid, left the lid laying on the kitchen floor, took the bread crumbs jar in “his room”, spreading the crumbs on the rug before eating them, and of destroying the jar in pieces. Then after his fight with the crumbs, he hid underneath the bed to hide, knowing he was in trouble.

When I saw his moustache I could not stop laughing, schnauzers have funky moustaches that get easily dirty.

Ingredients for 4

For the polenta cakes

  • 200 ml milk
  • 30 g heavy cream
  • 1 vanilla bean cut lengthwise and beans scraped
  • 50 g sugar
  • 65 g polenta
  • 2 tbs golden raisins
  • 8 dried apricots, unsweetened and cut in small pieces
  • 3 tbs rum

For the roasted peaches

  • 2 large yellow peaches, peeled and cut in half and seed removed
  • 1 tbs honey
  • 2 tbs brown sugar
  • 1 tbs sliced almonds, toasted
  • 4 tbs mascarpone

Preparation

For the polenta cakes

In a pot, combine milk and cream, sugar and vanilla bean. Bring to a boil. Add polenta gradually while stirring. Keep stirring for about 20 minutes (you can also use express polenta). Add extra milk if the polenta gets too thick. Add raisins and apricots pieces. Mix well. Spread in a flat surface keeping the thickness to about 2 cm. Let it cool. Using cookie cutters, or rinds, cut 4 circles.

For the roasted peaches

Grease a  baking dish with butter. Place peaches halves (flat part down). sprinkle with sugar and honey and cook in a pre-heated oven at 400F for about 15 minutes, then turn the peaches on the other side. Let them cook for another 10 minutes, then deglaze with rum (the soaking rum). Put peaches back in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven let them cool a little.

Place one polenta cake in a plate. Add half peach on top. Add mascarpone on the side and sprinkle with rum sauce.