Creamy White Polenta Cakes with Chocolate Chips and Raspberries

Eat your heart out this Valentine’s Day.

Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Total chilling time: 6 hours

Ingredients
3/4 cup or 5 oz. (150 g) polenta,
white if possible
1 1/4 cups (300 ml) milk
1/3 cup (80 g) brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup (70 ml) crème fraîche
2 teaspoons (10g) butter, for greasing
1 1/2 oz. or generous 1/2 cup (45 g)
chocolate chips
3 oz. (100 g) raspberries

In a saucepan, cook the polenta for 50 minutes together with the milk, brown sugar, cinnamon, and 1 1/4 cups (300 ml) water, stirring frequently. Stir in 1/4 cup (50 ml) crème fraîche. Grease a baking pan with the butter. With a moistened wooden spoon, spread the polenta onto the pan to a thickness of just under 1 inch (2 cm). Chill for at least 3 hours.

Use a cookie cutter to cut out disks with a 2 1/2 inch (6 cm) diameter. Place 1 teaspoon (5 ml) crème fraîche on each disk and cover with chocolate chips. Top with a second polenta disk. Repeat the procedure to make the rest of the individual cakes. Chill for 3 hours.

Garnish with raspberries just before serving.

Éric Kayser’s tip
If raspberries are not in season, replace with ripe cubed mango.

Reprinted with permission from Éric Kayser’s New French Recipe’s by Éric Kayser. Copright 2009. Published by Flammarion. Buy the book