Orange & Rosemary Polenta Cake

Orange & Rosemary Polenta Cake
This Orange Beauty Tastes As Good As It Looks!
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 35-40 minutes
Cooking Time: 45 minutes

This recipe was found on Yahoo Foods, "21 Bright Citrus Cakes to Beat the Winter Blues"  From the cookbook,  Citrus: Sweet & Savory Sun Kissed Recipes.  The recipe below has been modified from the original recipe.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup water
2 blood oranges, sliced thin
2 Valencia oranges, sliced thin
2 cups flour
1/2 cup finely ground polenta
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature + greasing
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of 1 orange
4 eggs

Cooking Tools
2 Medium mixing bowls
Spring form pan
Small saucepan
Handheld  mixer

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 Degrees F. Generously butter sides and bottom a 10-inch spring form pan. In a saucepan, add; 1/2 cup of the sugar and the water and heat over medium-high heat. Allow the sugar to dissolve without stirring. Cook 5-8 minutes, until it starts turning golden brown. Remove from the heat, pour the syrup into the buttered pan and coat the bottom evenly.  Arrange the orange slices in concentric circles on the syrup, overlapping them and covering the bottom of the pan completely. In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour, polenta, baking powder, salt, rosemary and set aside. In another mixing bowl, using a hand mixer, whip together the butter and the remaining 1 cup of sugar on low speed until creamy, then add in the olive oil, vanilla extract and orange zest. Increase the speed to high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Reduce to medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well until combined.  Reduce the speed to low and add the polenta and flour mixture a little at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Spoon the mixture over the orange slices, gently spread the batter until evenly level and bake for 45 minutes, until a wooden skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes. Release and remove the spring form, then invert the cake onto a serving platter and serve warm.
Serves 8