LEMON & ORANGE POLENTA CAKE

It’s not an easy feat to make a gluten, dairy and wheat free cake taste delicious. Throw in the fact that you want a cake to be reasonably healthy and low in fat as well and its damn near impossible. I stress that this cake is for a special occasion, due to the plentiful amount of margarine in the recipe. A word to the wise; do not reduce the amount of margarine or you will be left with an inedible dry cake (my first attempt!). The polenta and ground almonds in the cake are a much healthy alternative to brown or white sugar and flour. The orange & lemon zest really gives a fruity tang to the cake that lifts the otherwise mild taste of polenta. I wish I could say that I had come up with this recipe myself, however the substance of the recipe came from ‘The Best Gluten-free, Wheat-free & Dairy-Free Recipes’ by Grace Cheetham.

INGREDIENTS

• 250g dairy-free margarine (such as Nutalex), plus extra to grease
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 4-5 tablespoons honey
• 200g polenta
• 100g almond meal (ground almonds)
• 1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
• zest of 1/2 a large orange 
• zest of 1 lemon and the juice of 1 lemon

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-forced oven to 180 degrees celsius. Lightly grease a cake tin with margarine. 

2. Using an electric mixer or hand-held electric whisk beat the margarine until it becomes light and fluffy (this should take a few minutes). Gradually beat in the eggs, one at a time and then the honey. 

3. Using a large metal spoon, gently stir in the polenta, almond meal and baking powder. Add the orange & lemon zest and mix well. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and firm to touch. Remove from the oven and leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, before placing it on a wire rack to cool completely. 

Dust extra almond meal and lemon/orange zest on top of the cake if you wish. 

Serves / 8-10

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes

Total Cooking time / 35-40 (not including cooling time)

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