An intensely lemony, gluten-free polenta almond cake drenched in lemon syrup and served with creamy mascarpone is a lovely afternoon treat.
I have been in a serious baking mood over the last few weeks. Every week sees me whipping up cakes, pies and pastries and it doesn’t look like there’s an end in sight. This week, I revisited an old favourite of mine: the glorious polenta cake.
Now, I know that many of you will be thinking I’ve lost my mind and that polenta is clearly an ingredient used mostly in savory dishes but hear me out. Polenta makes and excellent substitute for flour in cakes which in turn make them completely gluten-free. Score! Plus, polenta gives this cake it’s sunshine-yellow loveliness and adds a bit of texture. This is not a light and fluffy cake. This polenta almond cake is rich, buttery and intensely lemony and every bite is simply mouth watering.
For this post I’ve partnered with my friend’s from Royal Baking Powder to share the exciting news about South Africa’s first Virtual kitchen! Presented by Royal Baking Powder, these interactive activations will entertain and delight South African families with virtual reality technology, while also enticing their senses with freshly baked goods. To top this all off, Royal Baking Powder is running a competition on their newly launched Facebook page where fans will stand a chance to win various baking essentials or the grand prize of R35 000, for a royal kitchen revamp or even just a well deserved summer break. Um, yes please!
(Image supplied by Royal Baking Powder)Â
To stand a chance of winning, simply create your ultimate #RoyalSundayRecipe and share a photo on Facebook showing off your (baked)goods. Head on over to Royal’s Facebook page for all the details.
Gluten-free lemon polenta almond cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup 150g polenta (not quick-cooking polenta)
- 1½ cups 150g ground almonds
- 1 tablespoon cornflour corn starch
- 3 level teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup 2 sticks butter, room temperature
- 1 cup caster sugar
- 3 large eggs
- zest of 2 lemons
- juice of 1 lemon
for the syrup
- juice of 1 lemon
- 100 g icing sugar
- 50 ml boiling water
to serve
- mascarpone cheese
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180ºc and line a 30cm cake pan with baking paper.
- Mix together all the dry ingredients.
- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs and dry ingredients alternatively until all the ingredients are well incorporated.
- Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared cake pan and place in the oven.
- Bake the cake for 40-50 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Don't be alarmed if the cake has sunk in the middle, that's completely normal. Because this cake is so dense and moist and because of the lack of flour, this will most likely happen.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.
- To make the syrup, combine the ingredients and mix until the sugar has dissolved.
- Pour over the cake then serve with a dollop of mascarpone.
This post was sponsored by Royal Baking Powder. All opinions are my own.Â
Intensely lemony sounds just perfect to me. What a beauty!
Thanks Laura. My heart belongs to anything lemony. 😉
This cake sounds amazing!
Thanks Sabrina!
I made this cake over the weekend and it was delicious. The polenta add nice crunch, which was a little different at first but I actually really enjoyed it. The lemon glaze is also perfect on the cake.
I’m so glad you liked it Mary. Yes, the polenta adds really great texture. And that glaze is just magic!
I’ve never made a polenta cake before, Alida – but this one looks wonderful. I love a simple cake and the lemon flavoring is my favorite in a cake. Looking forward to trying this!
Thanks Geraldine. Lemon cakes are my absolute favourite too!
So excited to add this recipe to my gluten free baked goods list Alida! I have several friends who eat gluten free, so I’m always looking for new things to make when I have them over. This sounds delicious and refreshing.
Thanks Mary Ann! Yeah, it’s a really good one to have in your repertoire. I hope you and your friends enjoy this one. 😉
I would imagine this would be good with a scoop of ice cream too! Love that it’s such a pretty sunshine yellow too!
Yes, ice cream would be perfection with this!
I LOVE polenta cakes. It love the texture it adds. This one looks great!
Yeah, the texture is great with polenta cakes. Thanks Sarah!
Yeah, the texture is great with polenta cakes. Thanks Sarah!
This cake looks so great! My daughter has gluten allergies and she loves anything lemon so I’m definitely going to be baking her this cake! Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Thanks Jenni! Please let me know what she thought of this cake once you’ve baked it.
I have never used polenta for baking and I bake gluten free all the time. What a great idea and lovely color. I love using almond flour in baked goods as well- such a delicious flavor!
That yellow gets me every time. Polenta is something I bake with often because I really like the texture it adds. And almond flour – swoon. It’s just too good.
Yum!! This sounds so good!! Definitely cake season!! 😉 xoxo
Thanks Rebecca! x