Over the Easter holiday, I made a couple of different desserts and both were great in their own way.  The lemon polenta cake with lavender was a nicely sweet and moist cake that had a lovely crunch and texture from the medium ground polenta.

The Tuscan chestnut cake was only slightly sweet and only calls for a couple of tablespoons of sugar for the entire cake.  The chestnut flour added a nice nutty taste and earthiness to the mix, while the walnuts, pine nuts, and golden raisins provided a beautiful contrast in textures.  This cake is dense and as such, very filling.  A little of it goes a long way but I really loved the unique flavor combinations and the rosemary in the cake adds a nice woodsy herb flavor.

All in all, both were great and neither were very difficult to make.  So, if you are looking for a dessert that is a little bit different than your usual fare, give one of these a whirl.  I definitely can recommend both recipes.

Both of these recipes came from Food 52.  It’s a great site and one that I frequent regularly.  I’ve tried a number of different recipes from this site and each and every one of them has exceeded expectations.  So, if you are so inclined and have the time, I definitely recommend going there and taking a look at the site.

The recipe for the lemon polenta cake with lavender can be found here.

The recipe for the Tuscan chestnut cake can be found here.