Lemon Polenta Cake
A golden, gluten-free cake of ground almonds and polenta, soaked in sharp lemon syrup while warm. Sunny, grainy in the best way, and it keeps for days.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 40 min
- total
- 1 h
- serves
- 10
- level
- easy
An Italian-style crumb made famous in Britain by Nigella Lawson: no flour at all, just ground almonds and fine polenta, which give the cake its golden color and gentle crunch.
The move that makes it is the syrup. The moment the cake comes out of the oven you prick it all over and pour sharp lemon syrup on, and the cake drinks it.
This dish is one of our top 10 recipes that made Nigella Lawson famous.
method
Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 23 cm springform tin.
Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
Mix the almonds, polenta and baking powder. Beat into the butter in thirds, alternating with the eggs one at a time. Stir in the lemon zest.
Scrape into the tin and bake for about 40 minutes, until the edges pull away and a skewer comes out mostly clean.
Warm the lemon juice and icing sugar until dissolved. Prick the hot cake all over with a skewer and pour the syrup slowly over.
Cool in the tin before releasing. Serve as is, or with crème fraîche.
chef's tips
- Fine polenta, not coarse. Coarse stays gritty no matter how long it bakes.
- Pour the syrup while the cake is hot; a cold cake will not absorb it.
- It keeps, wrapped, for a good five days and arguably improves.