I wanted to make a vegan and gluten-free cake for my mum’s birthday and this was the end result! A lovely, moist, zesty cake that melts in your mouth.
No dry gluten-free flours, just polenta and ground almonds. This recipe is also free from refined sugars and uses oil in place of butter or margerine.

Lemon, Almond & Polenta Cake (Vegan + Gluten-free)
Ingredients
- 150 ml mild olive oil
- 150ml agave nectar or maple syrup
- 200 g ground almonds
- 100 g very fine polenta (cornmeal)
- 1 1/2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 120ml (120g) vegan yoghurt (soy or coconut works well)
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- Zest of 2 lemons
- glaze:
- 3 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 170C and line an 8x8 inch baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the wet ingredients in and stir until well combined.
- Pour the mixture into the baking tray and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
To make the drizzle
- Whilst it's still warm from the oven, poke a few holes in the cake using a skewer or fork. Prepare the drizzle by mixing the maple syrup and lemon juice together and pouring over the cake. Using a pastry brush to spread it evenly over the top of the cake.
- Leave to cool before slicing and enjoy!
Thank you for this fast uncomplicated recipe. I have always loved polenta cake but couldn’t find a vegan gluten-free and low sugar version in shops or cafes. I will now return to this time and time again ..maybe i’ll pimp it from time to time reducing agave and adding raisins for sweetness?.
Best
Jim
Great, glad you enjoyed the recipe Jimmy!
I have just made this cake and was very pleased with the result…as was my boyfriend! He is recently gluten free and vegan so I’ve been looking for easy & tasty recipes for us to try. Thank you x
Hi Emma, I am so very glad it was enjoyed! Thank you for letting me know :-)
Looks great. Thanks for sharing.