Prep time:

Cooking time: 50 minutes

Total time:

Serves: 6

30g Dried Figs

100g Unsalted Butter

80g Runny Honey

2 Eggs, seperated

Zest of 1 Lemon

1tsp Orange Zest

1 Apple, peeled, cored and grated

25g Pine Nuts

30g Ground Almonds

50g Plain Flour

¼tsp Baking Powder

75g Coarse Grain Polenta

65ml Milk

1tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Butter:

65g Unsalted Butter

70g Unsweetened Chestnut Puree

1tbsp Honey

½tsp Toasted and Ground Fennel Seeds

Lucinda Hamilton creates a starter using Venison

  1. Preheat oven to 170°C.
  2. Roughly chop the figs.
  3. Put butter and honey in mixer and beat on high speed until pale and creamy.
  4. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add in the figs, zests, apple, pine nuts, almonds, flour, baking powder and polenta.
  5. Mix in the milk and vanilla essence until all ingredients combined.
  6. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff. Gently fold egg whites into the batter.
  7. Spoon into buttered and lined small loaf tin and bake for about 40-50 minutes until skewer comes out clean.

For the butter:

  1. To make the butter, beat all the above ingredients together until smooth. Chill until needed.

To serve: remove smoked venison from fridge about an hour before needed. Plate up with a couple of slices of warm polenta loaf with the chestnut butter on the side.

  • words:
  • pictures: David Merewether

You may also like

Sausage & apple rolls

Apples go so well with pork and with pastry. Choose a good cooking variety and some high quality sausage meat for these deliciously simple-to-make sausage rolls – perfect to serve at Halloween or Bonfire Night.

Apple, cauliflower & Stilton salad

This crunchy salad is ideal for the autumn – whatever the weather. It is hearty enough to serve for a light lunch or supper on its own, but equally good as a side dish. Use firm, tangy dessert apples like...

Hedgerow harvest cake

Celebrate the season with a delicious combination of fruits and nuts gathered from the hedgerows (or the supermarket). Apple is a very useful ingredient in general for cakes, either grated or as apple purée, as it will help to keep...