Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius and grease a 23cm loose bottom or springform pan.

Heat the milk and butter until the butter has melted. Place the cornmeal in a large mixing bowl and pour the warm milk over while stirring, the mixture will thicken. Add the sugar and whisk until smooth, mix in the eggs one at a time until well blended. In a separate bowl mix the ground pecans, zest, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to mixture to the batter and stir until well blended. The batter is more runny compared to when wheat flour is used.

Place a piece of baking paper on a baking sheet then place the pan one top, this will catch any excess syrup in the final step. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean.

To make the syrup bring the orange juice and sugar to a full boil. Poke a few holes with a skewer into the cake to help the syrup absorb. Pour the syrup evenly over the hot cake then leave to cool to room temperature before removing from pan. Serve at room with whipped cream.