I REALLY wish I could take all the glory for this cake because it truly is magnificent. The accolade, however, goes to Nigella Lawson. I am quite a fan of hers and this cake is one of the reasons why.
I have made this cake a few times now and every time, it is simply amazing. As my brother's girlfriend, Amy, describes it, “It’s like a lemon tart, but in cake form”. A very apt description. Nigella herself preludes her recipe with the following statement, which immediately won me over:
“If you were to try to imagine what lemon curd would taste like in cake form, this would be it”.
Can it get much better than lemon curd in cake form? Honestly!
If there were ever a cake to get excited about, this is the one. It is ridiculously moist, sweet but tangy all at once with the absolute perfect texture. Then, if all this isn’t enough for you, it also happens to be gluten free. I know that really good gluten free cakes are hard to come buy and I can assure you that this is not a really good gluten free cake- it is a FABULOUS one!
I am not too ashamed to say that this cake is so good that Kristian, Alex, Amy and I "accidentally" ate the whole thing in one shot when I made it the other day.
I regret nothing.
SERVES 12
200g unsalted butter, softened (plus extra for greasing)
200g caster sugar
200g almond meal
100g polenta
1 ½ tsp baking powder
3 eggs
Zest of 2 lemons
For the syrup:
Juice of 2 lemons
125g icing sugar
Whipped cream or natural yogurt, to serve (optional)
Preheat the oven to 160˚C fan-forced. Grease and line the base of a 23cm spring-form cake tin.
Cream the butter and sugar until it is pale and well combined.
In a separate bowl, combine the almond meal, polenta and baking powder. Add some of this dry mix to the butter and sugar and mix then add one of the eggs and continue alternating the dry mix and the eggs until it is all well combined. Finally, beat in the lemon zest.
Pour into the pre-prepared cake tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean and the edges of the cake are golden and coming away from the side of the tin.
Leave the cake to cool in the tin on a cake rack.
For the syrup, in a small saucepan mix together the juice of the lemons and the icing sugar. Cook on a low heat until the sugar is dissolved and you have a lemony liquid.
Using a skewer, very carefully prick all over the top of the cooled cake. Spoon the syrup over the top, ensuring that you cover all of the cake.
Serve with a dollop of whipped cream or natural yogurt. Bliss.
Recipe from www.nigella.com