Hemp Oil Cake with Lemon Mint Sorbet and Macerated Berries

Chef Sean McKay
Mitchell Block

This cake is Manitoba through and through, flavoured with hemp oil and accented with local berries steeped in provincial pride Northern Harvest Rye.

Ingredients
Hemp Oil Cake
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup Manitoba cold pressed hemp oil, plus more for coating the pan
1/4 cup amaretto liqueur
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1/2 cup coarse ground cornmeal
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp fine sea salt

Lemon Mint Sorbet
1 3/4 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup loosely packed fresh mint
1-2 Tbsp grated lemon zest

Macerated Berries
2 cups fresh local berries
1/4 cup Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye whiskey
2 Tbsp white sugar

Method
Hemp Oil Cake
1. Heat oven to 350˚F with rack set the middle of the oven. Coat a 9” round spring-form or silicon cake pan with hemp oil and flour; tap out excess.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together egg and sugar until well blended. Add milk, hemp oil, amaretto, and lemon zest. Mix well.
3. In another bowl, stir together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients, and stir until just blended.
4. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out with only a few crumbs, about 40-50 min. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Lemon Mint Sorbet
1. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine water and sugar. Boil until sugar dissolves, about 1 min.
2. Remove from heat. Add mint and  steep for 5 min, then strain. Allow to cool.
3. Stir in lemon juice and zest, then pour into an ice cream maker. Churn according to manufacturer’s instructions. When the sorbet has frozen into ice crystals, transfer to storage container, cover tightly, and freeze until ready to serve. Sorbet will solidify in the freezer.

Macerated Berries
1. Combine berries, whiskey, and sugar in a small mixing bowl. Let sit at least 1 hour before serving.

Yield about 12 servings