Polenta Cake
Italian polenta cake with ground almonds, cornmeal, orange and lemon zest, and vanilla bean. Naturally gluten-free with a tender, grainy crumb and citrus perfume.
YIELD
6 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
30 minREADY
60 minThis Italian polenta cake is naturally gluten-free. Ground almonds and cornmeal replace flour entirely, giving the cake a tender, slightly grainy texture with a golden color that looks as good as it tastes.
Orange and lemon zest plus real vanilla bean seeds run through the butter-rich batter. Those aromatics are the soul of this cake. The citrus oils hit your nose before you even taste it, and the vanilla adds a floral warmth that ties everything together.
Beating the egg whites to soft peaks and folding them in is what gives this dense, flourless batter its lift. Fold gently in two stages: half the whites first to lighten the batter, then the rest to keep as much air as possible.
Grinding the almonds with the cornmeal and cornstarch in a food processor ensures an even, fine texture. Coarse almond meal would leave the cake gritty.
Chef Tips
- Room temperature eggs are a must. Cold egg whites don’t whip as well, and cold yolks don’t cream properly with the butter.
- Scrape the vanilla bean seeds directly into the butter mixture. The tiny black specks throughout the cake are visually beautiful and taste far better than extract.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting. Invert too soon and the cake breaks. Wait too long and it sticks.
Variations
- Lemon-only version: Skip the orange zest and double the lemon for a sharper, more tart cake.
- Berry topping: Serve with macerated strawberries instead of whipped cream for a lighter finish.
- Pistachio swap: Replace the almonds with pistachios for a green-tinted cake with a different nutty flavour.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 325℉ (160℃).
Generously butter an 8 X 1 inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, combine ½ cup of the sugar and the butter, egg yolks and orange and lemon zests.
Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into mixture, or add extract.
Using an electric mixer, beat at high speed until smooth, light and creamy, about 2 minutes.
In a food processor, finely grind the almonds with the cornmeal/polenta, cornstarch and baking powder.
In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the egg whites with the remaining ¼ teaspoon sugar until they form soft peaks.
Gently fold the dry ingredients and ½ the beaten egg whites into the butter mixture; then fold in the remaining egg whites until just incorporated.
Gently scrape the batter evenly into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
Transfer pan to a cooling rack for 10 minutes; then invert the cake on the rack and let cool completely.
Sprinkle with confectioners sugar, cut into 6 pieces and serve with topping.
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