Mălai dulce is a Romanian dish. I read recently a book about corn and its long history within Romania. So, I’ve decided to make this dessert. Its name suggest this is a recipe made by the peasants. Mălai means corn meal, so it’s rather incorrect to call a recipe: sweet corn meal. Sweet polenta or a specific name would have been better.

The dessert is very easy to make. It can be made with eggs, but I skipped them and, as seen, the dessert rose beautifully. I’ve added some orange blossom water, but one can skip that if it’s not something you have in the cupboards.

The cake is so easy to make, it takes only a few minutes of preparation and a few minutes to clean up. The sponge should rise, as you can see in the picture. The cake will start to rise and it will look done, but wait for the 40-45 minutes baking time as those are needed.

Ingredients for a Mălai dulce cake:

– 180g corn meal
– 250g white flour
– 60ml oil
– 250ml soya milk (or any kind of milk)
– 80g sugar
– 4g baking powder
– orange blossom water (optional, 1-2 spoons)
– icing sugar for decor, about 1 teaspoon

Start by heating the oven at 180C fan or 200C for standard ovens. In a bowl mix all the ingredients with a spoon. It takes less than a minute to properly mix all the ingredients. Prepare a baking tray by lining it with baking paper. Spray oil on top to make sure it will not stick to the cake. Flip the cake mixture in the baking tray.

Bake for about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven, leave to cool for a minute or two. Remove the cake from the baking tray and place it on a cooling rack. Leave it to cool completely. When is cold, sprinkle icing sugar on top using a sieve and transfer the cake onto a serving plate.
The cake is ready to be enjoyed. I would suggest adding some ice cream or fresh fruits and a bit of whipped cream, on a side. Some syrup on top also would work nicely.