Lemon Polenta Cake

Before you start

This cake swaps wheat flour for almond flour and fine polenta, which is coarsely ground cornmeal. Almonds give richness and moisture; polenta adds a golden color and a pleasant, slightly gritty crunch. A hot lemon syrup poured over the warm cake soaks in and keeps the crumb moist for days, with a sharp, bright flavor against the buttery base.

Use fine or quick-cook polenta, not coarse grits, which stay hard and sandy. The cake bakes low and slow because almond flour browns quickly; a skewer is a better guide than the color of the top. For a strictly gluten-free cake, check that your polenta and baking powder are labeled gluten-free, since cross-contact can occur in processing.

Ingredients

• Cake200 g (¾ cup plus 2 tbsp) unsalted butter — softened
• 200 g (1 cup) caster or granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs — room temperature
• 200 g (2 cups) almond flour (finely ground blanched almonds)
• 100 g (⅔ cup) fine polenta or fine cornmeal
• 1 tsp baking powder — gluten-free if needed
• ¼ tsp fine salt
• 2 lemons, finely grated zest — save the juice for the syrup
• Syrup75 ml (5 tbsp) fresh lemon juice — about 2 lemons
• 75 g (⅔ cup) powdered sugar

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C (325°F). Grease the springform pan and line the base with parchment.
2. Beat the butter and sugar on medium-high for 4 to 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
3. Whisk the almond flour, polenta, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat a third of this into the butter, then one egg; repeat until all the eggs and dry ingredients are in. The batter will be thick.
4. Stir in the lemon zest, scrape into the pan and smooth the top.
5. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until golden brown, set in the center and a skewer comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the top darkens too quickly after 30 minutes, cover loosely with foil.
6. While the cake bakes, warm the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a small saucepan, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Keep warm.
7. Set the cake, still in its pan, on a rack. Poke holes all over with a skewer and spoon the warm syrup slowly over the surface, letting it soak in. Cool completely in the pan, about 1 hour, before releasing the ring.

Tips for success

• Grate the zest directly into the sugar before creaming. The oils perfume the sugar and spread lemon flavor through the whole cake.
• This cake firms as it cools; it will feel quite soft just out of the oven.
• Serve with crème fraîche or Greek yogurt to balance the sweetness of the syrup.

Substitutions

Butter

Use 180 ml (¾ cup) mild olive oil, whisking the oil, sugar and eggs instead of creaming. The cake is denser and dairy-free.

Lemons

Oranges or blood oranges work; reduce the powdered sugar in the syrup to 50 g since orange juice is sweeter.

Almond flour

Hazelnut flour gives a darker, more toasty cake with the same texture.

Variations

Rosemary lemon polenta cake

Rub 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary into the sugar with the zest.

Lemon-blueberry polenta cake

Scatter 120 g (¾ cup) blueberries over the batter before baking; they sink slightly into the cake.

Troubleshooting

Cake sank in the center

It was underbaked. Almond cakes need the full time; bake until a skewer in the middle is clean and the top springs back.

Crumb is gritty and hard

The polenta was too coarse. Use fine polenta or fine cornmeal, or pulse coarse polenta in a blender first.

Syrup pooled on top

It was poured too quickly or the cake was cold. Add syrup slowly to the warm cake, after poking plenty of deep holes.

Storage

Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days; it stays moist from the syrup. Refrigerate in warm weather and bring to room temperature before serving. It freezes well for up to 2 months.

Safety notes

Do not taste the raw batter, which contains raw egg. Contains tree nuts (almonds), egg and milk.