Palio’s Polenta Cake

Buckwheat is the flour in this cake, a recipe from the late Andrea Hellrigl, a native of the Italian Alps and chef-owner of Palio restaurant in New York City. Because it is coarsely ground, buckwheat eventually became known in Italy as polenta nera, or black polenta.

This cake has a complex, rounded flavor, with elusive honey and spice notes. It’s extraordinarily light—surprising, since the buckwheat flour, chocolate and nuts could easily render it leaden. At