Little Baby Lemon Polenta Cakes

A couple of years ago, while on a film date with some girlfriends, my friend Lydia whipped these little cakes out of her bag and handed them around. I was astonished. They had an interesting texture, tasted fantastic and were gluten free.

She had found the recipe in a copy of delicious. that I had left at her place. The article featured recipes from Rachel Grisewood’s cookbook Manna From Heaven: Cooking for the People You Love. I had skipped over this recipe – I didn’t have the right tray and gluten free stuff always seemed a bit fussy to me. However, it is not – these are easy, delicious and, in my opinion, the perfect size.

Thanks Lyds, here’s to wholesome little treats!

Little Baby Lemon Polenta Cakes

Makes around 24, depending on the size of your mini muffin tray.

225 g butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing

225 g caster sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

110 g ground almonds

110 g shredded coconut

110 g fine polenta

finely grated zest of 2 lemons

2 ½ tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (optional)

Icing:

225 g icing (confectioners’) sugar, sieved

2 – 3 teaspoons lemon juice

finely grated zest of 1 lemon (optional)

Set the oven to 150°C.  Grease and line 24 cups in a mini muffin tray. I line mine with baking paper rather than use mini muffin cups but either will do.

Cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes, or until lump free – it doesn’t need to be light and fluffy. Slowly beat in the eggs, then fold in the ground almonds, coconut, polenta, lemon zest, lemon juice, baking powder and vanilla.

Spoon the mixture into the cups. Bake for 20 – 30  minutes, or until the cakes are golden and just pulling away from the sides of their cups. Cool in the tin.

For the Icing, mix the sugar, lemon juice and zest in a bowl until smooth. Spoon over the little cakes – the icing will dribble down the sides a little. Leave the icing to set before eating.

Variation: Large Lemon Polenta Cake

This same recipe also works if you want to make just one cake. Simply grease and line a 24 cm round cake tin and bake for 30-50 minutes, or until golden. As Grisewood notes, it is pretty firm so is perfect to use as a base for decorations – a great birthday cake.

Adapted from Manna From Heaven: Cooking for the People You Love.