Lemon Polenta Cake

Lemon Polenta Cake is an easy gluten free cake that is zesty and fresh! With a moist texture this is a favorite from our baking recipes.  Similar to our  Orange Polenta Cake,  with citrus zest!

Popular treats like the Anzac Biscuits and Chocolate Caramel Slice are worth taking a look at.

For a no fuss dessert, check the No Bake Chocolate Cake. For festive desserts your go to recipes are our Chocolate Ripple Wreath, Christmas Wreath Pavlova and 8 Egg Pavlova. 

Jump to:

• What is Polenta Cake made from
• Is Polenta Gluten Free
• Can you use ready made Polenta in cakes
• Lemon Polenta Cake nut free
• Can I substitute polenta for ground almonds
• Almond flour versus Almond meal
• Ingredients
• Instructions
• Frequently asked questions
• Gluten Free Lemon Polenta Cake Pro tips:
• 😍 More Easy Baked Recipes
• 📖 Recipe

This is the best lemon polenta cake recipe you will come across. Over the years I made many different versions with varying amounts of ingredients, till I refined my recipe to this version. It ticks a lot of boxes and you will LOVE it! 

What is Polenta Cake made from

Polenta cake is made from a combination of butter, sugar, eggs, almond flour, lemon zest and polenta. 

Polenta itself is made from yellow corn and has various uses in cooking, for both sweet and savoury dishes. 

Is Polenta Gluten Free

You can get gluten free polenta easily at the shops, if in doubt ensure you purchase it from the health food section and read the packet to find the 'gluten free' label. 

Can you use ready made Polenta in cakes

The type of polenta we use for this recipe is in the dried, uncooked grain and it is bright yellow. 

We add it to the batter of the cake and then cook it in the oven as the cake bakes. 

Ready made polenta is not suitable for this recipe as it is already cooked and sold in block form. 

Can you freeze polenta cake

One of the great things about this recipe is that you can freeze your polenta cake once it has cooled. Either wrap the whole cake in glad wrap and place in the freezer, or slice the cake and wrap the individual pieces.

When you are ready to serve, simply remove from the oven and let defrost before serving. 

Lemon Polenta Cake nut free

This cake is actually very simple! At times making it along the way, you think you need a thick icing or syrup or fluffy stuff on top. 

But, you take a breath and think back to why you wanted to make the cake in the 1st place. You want a simple, (but delicious) recipe that works every time. You want a cake that comes from the heart and puts friendship on the plate. 

No nuts, no icing, no funny business, keep it simple and let the citrus do the talking. 

Can I substitute polenta for ground almonds

You can switch out polenta for ground almonds in general when cooking. However, this cake uses a combination of polenta AND almond flour. You need both to create the combination of soft and dense texture of the cake. 

Our ingredients are easy to find but slightly more refined than other recipes on the blog. 

Almond flour versus Almond meal

It is easy to get confused between almond flour and almond meal. Be reassured that you can substitute and for most recipes it won't make a huge difference. 

If you are making macaroons then I recommend almond flour and sticking to that for the art that it takes to create them needs a finer texture. 

For this cake you can use almond meal if you prefer. Sometimes if it is a budget decision for almond flour can usually only be purchased in a larger quantity, more than is needed one recipe. Whereas almond meal can be found in less quantities which will be perfect for the recipe if you don't want to have leftovers sit in the cupboard for months on end. 

I prefer using almond flour for this polenta cake recipe as it has a finer texture. Whilst I use almond meal at times (especially the one with the flecks of the almond skin in it), my 'go to' for this cake has long been the flour version. 

Ingredients

Polenta is a great ingredient to cook with! It is versatile and can be used for sweet or savoury baked dishes and is a nice change that we don't tend to use as often as other ingredients like flour and pasta! 

Here it is the star of the show! 

As you can see the ingredients we need are:

• almond flour
• polenta
• caster sugar
• lemons
• butter
• eggs
• icing sugar

Instructions

Here are the step by step photos and instructions to make this recipe. We can break down our method into 18 easy steps. 

1. crack eggs into a jug and whisk to combine (shown in photos 1-2)
2. zest your lemons and set aside (shown in photos 3-4)
3. use electric beaters to beat butter and sugar (shown in photos 5-6)
4. add almond flour, lemon zest and whisked eggs, stir to combine (shown in photos 7-9)

• mix your cake batter and add your dry polenta to it (photos 10-11)
• line your cake tin with spray oil and grease proof paper (photo 12)
• pour your batter into your cake tin and smooth it out (photos 13-14)
• bake your polenta cake till it is golden (photo 15)
• flip the baked cake onto a serving platter (photo 16)
• dust the top of the cake with icing sugar and lemon zest (photos 17-18)

Of the recipe steps above, there are 4 to pay particular attention on to make your cake shine. These are shown in the photos below with a detailed explanation underneath. 

• you will need a citrus zester as a normal grater is too big for light lemon zest (photo 1)
• adding the lemon zest to the cake batter is where the flavour starts to sing (photo 2)
• use a spoon to stir the polenta into the cake mix (photo 3) 
• add final touches of flavour and zest with the icing sugar and leftover zest (photo 4)

Frequently asked questions

• we use fresh lemons for the zest to get the sweet lemon taste
• almond flour will be found in the health food area at the shops
• we need the dry yellow grain type form of polenta
• this is a gluten free polenta cake recipe
• spray a little cooking oil into the cake tin to stick the baking paper
• no need to add vanilla essence to the recipe as we want the lemon to shine through
• you can use either almond flour or almond meal 
• this is a freezer friendly recipe
• This is an EASY recipe

Gluten Free Lemon Polenta Cake Pro tips:

These additional tips are so that you can master this recipe from the 1st time you make it:

• you don't need baking powder for this recipe
• we whisk the eggs to get a smooth consistency to the batter
• use a spoon to stir the ingredients when not using the beaters (ie adding the polenta)
• keep an eye on the cake towards the end so that the edges stay only lightly browned
• a small sieve is perfect to sprinkle the icing sugar on top as the texture will be consistent
• the lemon zest and icing sugar is for extra zesty flavour!

📖 Recipe