Gluten Free Lemon Polenta Cake

This gluten free lemon polenta cake is deliciously moist and intensely
lemony thanks to an abundance of both lemon zest and lemon juice in
the batter, as well as being soaked with a fragrant lemon syrup. It has a
delicate, soft, melt-in-the-mouth crumb and you can serve it as is, or
topped with lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream. It’s also
incredibly easy to make and even non-gluten-free folks will absolutely
love it. 5 from 4 votes
Course Dessert
Cuisine Gluten Free
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 12
Author Kat | The Loopy Whisk
Ingredients
Gluten free lemon polenta cake:
200 g (1 cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
zest of 2 lemons (Ideally, use organic unwaxed lemons.)
4 US large/UK medium eggs, room temperature
115 g (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until warm
50 g (4 tbsp) sunflower oil, or other neutral-tasting oil of choice
60 g (4 tbsp) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ tsp vanilla bean paste (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
120 g (1 cup) plain gluten free flour blend (I used Doves Farm Freee plain white gluten free
flour that doesn't have any xanthan gum added. You can also mix your own gluten free
flour blend using this recipe. Note that for this homemade blend, 1 cup = 150g, so ideally
use a kitchen scale for best results.)
120 g (¾ cup + 2 tbsp) fine polenta or medium grind cornmeal (NOT instant polenta!)
65 g (⅔ cup) almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp xanthan gum (Omit if your gluten free flour blend already contains xanthan gum.)
¼ tsp salt
Lemon syrup:
150 g (¾ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
90 g (6 tbsp) lemon juice, freshly squeezed
75 g (5 tbsp) water
strips of lemon peel from 2 lemons (Ideally, use organic unwaxed lemons.)
Vanilla whipped cream:
230 g (1 cup) heavy/double cream, cold from the fridge
30 g (¼ cup) powdered/icing sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
 lemon zest, for decoration
Instructions
Gluten free lemon polenta cake:
1. Adjust the oven rack to the middle position, pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC), and line
the bottom and sides of a 9-inch (23cm) round springform pan with parchment/baking
paper.
2. Add the sugar and lemon zest to a large bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer, if using), and
use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.
Tip: This helps to release more essential oils from the zest, and it will make your cake even
more lemony and aromatic.
3. Add the eggs to the lemon-sugar mixture and, using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk
attachment or a hand mixer fitted with the double beaters, whip them together until pale,
thick, fluffy and about tripled in volume (the ribbon stage). This should take about 5-10
minutes on a high speed setting.
4. Add the melted butter, oil, lemon juice and vanilla, and whisk briefly to combine.
5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour blend, polenta, almond flour,
baking powder, xanthan gum and salt, and add them to the wet ingredients. Whisk on
medium-low speed until you get a smooth batter with no flour clumps. Scrape down the
bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally to prevent any unmixed patches, but be careful
not to overmix.
6. Transfer the batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth out the top.
7. Bake at 350ºF (180ºC) for about 40 minutes or until well risen, golden brown on top, soft
and spongy to the touch, and an inserted toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
If your cake starts browning too much or too quickly, cover it with a sheet of aluminium foil
(shiny side up) and continue baking until done.
8. While the cake is baking, prepare the lemon syrup – you'll need to pour it over the cake as
soon as it comes out of the oven.
Lemon syrup:
1. You can tailor the acidity and the amount of syrup to your own taste.
If you're a fan of really tart desserts, you can increase the amount of lemon juice and reduce
the amount of water – or even use lemon juice only (keeping the total amount of liquid at
165g or 11 tablespoons).

If you want the cake to be EXTRA moist an really saturated with the syrup, you can increase
the amount of lemon juice and/or water, but keep the amount of sugar the same (otherwise
your cake could end up too sweet).
2. Combine the sugar, lemon juice, water and lemon peel in a saucepan, and cook them over
medium heat until the mixture comes to a simmer.
3. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes, then turn off the heat and cover the
saucepan with a lid. Allow to steep while the cake is baking. Just before you pour the syrup
over the cake, remove the strips of lemon peel.
4. Immediately out of the oven, while the cake is still hot, prick it all over with a toothpick or
skewer. This will help the lemon syrup to soak more evenly into the cake, all the way to the
 bottom.
5. Pour the lemon syrup evenly over the hot cake.
6. Allow the cake to cool completely to room temperature in the springform pan.
Tip: Keeping the cake in the pan while you pour over the syrup and then while it cools
prevents the syrup from leaking out and making a mess on your counter.

Vanilla whipped cream:

1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or a hand mixer fitted with the
double beaters, whip together the heavy/double cream, powdered/icing sugar and vanilla
until soft peaks form.
2. Remove the cooled cake from the springform pan and onto a serving plate, then dollop the
whipped cream on top (you can use all of it to decorate the cake or reserve a couple of
tablespoons for serving). Use a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon to create a few
decorative swirls and swoops, then sprinkle with lemon zest. Slice and serve.
Storage:
1. The gluten free lemon polenta cake keeps well in a closed container in the fridge for 3-4
days. Allow to stand at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving for the optimal
texture.
Recipe by The Loopy Whisk (www.theloopywhisk.com).