Vegan Recipe Update
I created this recipe a long time and will leave the original here, but please note I have posted an updated recipe with vegan, plant-based ingredients here: Gluten-free Lemon Polenta Cake (Vegan)
Wow, it’s been a reaaaaalllly long time since I last posted anything. Sorry about that… But I’m back now! And I hope you all enjoyed the holidays. I know I did *pats belly.*
Today I’ve been baking some lemon drizzle slices, but with a few surprise ingredients…
This recipe is adapted from Nigella’s Lemon Polenta Cake but in my version, I’ve used olive oil in place of butter for a wonderfully light texture and to cut back on the cholesterol and saturated fats.
Olive oil also contains vitamin E which helps keep the baked goods fresher for longer.
I love olive oil and use it in most of the meals I make, but rarely baking, I think that might change now though…
These cake slices remind me of Mr Kipling Lemon Slices (but way better OBV) – that same intense lemon flavour and moist, spongy cake.
This version is both gluten-free and dairy-free. Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Olive Oil Cake {Gluten-free, Dairy-free}
This recipe can be used to fit a 8 x 8 inch brownie tin or a 9 inch cake tin.
Ingredients
- 160 ml good quality olive oil
- 200 g caster sugar, superfine sugar
- 200 g ground almonds
- 100 g polenta, cornmeal
- 1 ½ tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 3 large eggs
- 2 large lemons, zest and juice
- 200 g icing sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c. Grease the tin with a little olive oil and line with greaseproof paper.
- Mix the sugar and olive oil together until pale and frothy.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the ground almonds, cornmeal and baking powder.
- Pour the dry mixture into the olive oil and sugar bowl and mix. Then crack in 1 of the eggs, followed by the dry mixture then alternate the eggs and dry ingredients. Keep mixing all the while.
- Add the lemon zest and mix again until fully incorporated. Pour or scrape the mixture into your prepared tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean and the cake has begun to shrink away from the edges of the tin.
- Make the syrup by boiling together half of the lemon juice and 50g of the icing sugar in a small saucepan. Once the icing sugar’s dissolved into the juice, it's ready.
- Prick the top of the cake all over with a cake tester (a skewer will leave bigger holes but this is fine once you've covered it with icing), pour the warm syrup over the cake, and leave to cool before taking it out of its tin.
- Make the icing by mixing the remainder icing sugar and lemon juice, then once the cake has cooled, pour it on top and smooth over evenly.
- Leave the icing to set then cut into slices or squares. Enjoy!
Notes
Adapted from Nigella's Lemon Polenta Cake
Pamela @ Brooklyn Farm Girl says
Just stopping by to fall in love with these. Just going to refresh the page a few times to keep falling in love. Sigh.
Aimee says
hehehe :-)
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
Interesting that olive oil keeps things fresher … I didn’t know that. I made some blondies yesterday using olive oil and they came out really well. You couldn’t taste the olive oil at all.
These lemon slices look lovely … very fresh and light. I remember Mr. Kipling! We used to have his cakes every Sunday evening!
Aimee says
Apparently so, although I haven’t been able to test myself as they never last that long anyway in my house! The blondies sound delicious, is it your own recipe?
Helen @ Scrummy Lane says
I’m just about to post the blondies over the next few days some time (my posts are taking me ages still!) Actually, I used a basic recipe that I found on Smitten Kitchen (from a really early post) and swapped the butter for olive oil as an experiment … and added some other goodies! Was pleasantly surprised that you really couldn’t taste the olive oil!
Vicky and Ruth - May I Have That Recipe? says
I love polenta cake and I love lemon cake, this one is a winner for me. I never tried baking with olive oil, but I would love to try, much better than butter as far as I am concerned. I am wondering if you are using extra virgin olive oil that has a strong taste or a milder olive oil?
Aimee says
I was concerned that the extra virgin olive oil (which I did use) would be too strong in taste but actually I couldn’t taste it at all! I think it must have been totally masked by the even stronger lemon flavour. I’ve been reading up on it a bit and apparently the quality of the olive oil is the most important when using it for baking, as cheaper oils can give a nasty aftertaste. I’ll be experimenting with it a bit more I think…
Amy Alt says
oOooh yum yum, lemon drizzle is just the best especially when it’s nice and tangy and lemony. Very interesting using polenta for the cake, it’s definitely given me some ideas :)
Aimee says
The more lemony the better, I say! I look forward to seeing your polenta-inspired creations in the future Amy :-)
Aysegul - Ice says
Cornmeal, olive oil, and lemons.. Delicious ingredients for a great cake! Photography is just as appealing.
Happy that you are back my friend! Cheers!
Ice
Aimee says
Thank you and a very happy new year to you Ice :-)