A simple, Italian-style polenta cake recipe flavored with lemon. It has ricotta cheese for moisture and is served with a gorgeous blueberry sauce. The texture is dense, sweet and a welcome change from the usual sponge cakes.
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A unique cake
I've been meaning to make a polenta cake for a long time. This recipe is unlike a usual soft lemon cake or even the beautifully dense lemon pound cake.
It's a great recipe with simple ingredients and a very unique texture, a dense, very moist and coarse cake (but not gritty) that needs no lemon glaze but is phenomenal with a berry sauce.
It's not a looker unless you drench it in a blueberry lemon sauce, but you can eat it as a plain snack cake.
I'm a big polenta fan (which is a finer version of grits, but from a different type of corn). I ate it all the time as a kid and loved it. It pairs so ridiculously well with lemons that I'm happy to share this recipe with you.
When paired with berries, it's a party, so I encourage you to serve it along.
- Heidi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I think this is the first time I've ever eaten a polenta cake. This was so easy to make, and the blueberry sauce complements the cake perfectly. It was delicious!!! Thanks for sharing!
- Alisa ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
My husband is a huge polenta fan and went crazy for this cake! Thanks for sharing.
Testing notes
Use instant polenta, as it absorbs liquid better, so the cake will have a finer and less gritty texture. If you use regular polenta or old-fashioned, which takes a longer time to hydrate, the bite might not be as soft.
Ricotta: it needs to be soft, curdled, and moist but without excess liquid. Creamy but granular, and almost sweet. If it has too much water, drain it by placing it on a colander with a cheesecloth. Quality varies according to brands. I buy original ricotta sourced from good small producers when I can, but have great results with store-bought ones.
Mixing the batter: I use an electric hand-held mixer and a large mixing bowl, which makes the process easier, but you can also make this by hand with some arm muscle and a whisk. Or use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, but I find it too much of a hassle for this recipe.
Lemon flavor: both fresh lemon juice (not bottled) and lemon zest give the best result. The cake will be sweeter if using Meyer lemons (instead of regular ones).
Blueberry topping
This is, in theory, optional, but I can't stress enough how great the whole package (polenta cake and blueberry sauce) is. They complement each other, and the dense cake becomes mellower. It's an outstanding pair.
Depending on how I plan to serve it, I use the blueberry compote, which is juicier and more fluid because it doesn't have cornstarch, so the juice seeps into the cake like the images in this post. Or the blueberry sauce, which has a thicker consistency and a heavier syrup.
Do you have other berries? Use them. Raspberries and blackberries work well, though they can be tangier, so you might want to add more sugar to the sauce. Sweet cherries also work.
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Lemon Polenta Cake with Blueberry Sauce
Ingredients
For lemon polenta cake:
- ¾ cup instant polenta, or instant yellow cornmeal
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature
- ⅓ cup water or buttermilk, at room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- ½ cup honey
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- ½ cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled but not cold
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cold and in small pieces for top of the cake
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
For the blueberry sauce:
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar
Instructions
For lemon polenta cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180°C).
- Line the bottom of a round 9-inch (24cm) springform pan (or springform cake tin) with parchment paper and spray or butter the sides of the pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir ¾ cup instant polenta, ¾ cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, and ¼ teaspoon salt.
- In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat 1 cup ricotta cheese and ⅓ cup water or buttermilk until smooth. If it's still somewhat curdled, don't worry.
- Add ¾ cup sugar, ½ cup honey, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest and beat well.
- Gradually add ½ cup unsalted butter, melted, and 2 large eggs, one at a time, and beat until the mixture is smooth.
- Add the dry ingredients in two or three additions, beating on low speed only until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the pan, dot the top with 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled and in little pieces, and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack and remove from the tin or pan onto a serving plate, and serve with the blueberry sauce. You can also sprinkle the top with powdered sugar (known as icing sugar in some countries) before serving if you like a sweeter cake.
For the blueberry sauce:
- Mix 1 cup blueberries, ¼ cup lemon juice, and ⅓ cup light brown sugar in a small saucepan.
- Cook for 3-5 minutes at medium heat, until syrupy, and the berries are somewhat wrinkled.
- Let cool completely and store, covered, in the refrigerator.
Notes
Adapted from Baking from my Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan
Heidi Mitchell says
I think this is the first time I've ever eaten a polenta cake. This was so easy to make, and the blueberry sauce compliments the cake perfectly. It was delicious!!! Thanks for sharing!
Jb Bean says
I am a decent cook. Not a baker -- just sayin. I am also celiac for 28 years. Probably another reason I don't usually bake. But, frigid days in midwest, items i.e cottage cheese needing to be used.... I found this recipe. And yes it is easy. And boy did I substitute within reason. I visited Vienna last spring.... this is worthy of any world class Patisserie. I used chick pea flour instead of all-purpose... General rule about a 1/4 -1/2 than called for esp when not using a GF designed for baking mixed flour. I also used large curd cottage cheese (smashed up) drained to be more ricotta like, used the 'milk' from that and a splash of vinegar to make the 1/3 c of buttermilk. No lemons in house.... lemon extract to the rescue... only delicate splash. Seriously, you may snicker, -23 C windchill... wasnt going out for that last bit o honey.... topped off what I had of maple syrup to get to the 1/2 C honey. Set timer to check at 30 min... GF baked goods seem to be doughy or burn... But it looked good and could take the last 5 min. Popped off the spring form pan and thought uh-o crispy edges... Turns out the sugar honey combo in batter made a wonderful caramelized edge. Had only strawberries and paltry sum blueberrys for sauce. OMG!!!! Must have. Will totally do again. Maybe even w/o the crazy subs but for the Chick pea flour. GF folks... will so appreciated a delightful pastry. If I had it I would only add a dollop of whipped cream to top, for fun, look, and continued eye-rolling heaven.
Paula Montenegro says
You sure were resourceful with what you had! I'm amazed by all the subs and very happy it turned out so well! Have a great weekend.
Lauren says
Will semolina work in place of polenta?
Paula Montenegro says
Hi Lauren, it should work. The texture will be different, smoother probably as polenta is much coarser than semolina.
Alisa Infanti says
My husband is a huge polenta fan and went crazy for this cake! Thanks for sharing.
Anita says
I've never tried using polenta to bake a cake before, so thanks for sharing this recipe. The cake was delicious. Now I can't wait to try other cakes using polenta too. 🙂
Jen says
Easy to make GF because there isn't much flour. The polenta is the star of this recipe!
Lori @ Foxes Love Lemons says
Lemon + Blueberry = my favorite flavor combination of all time. I'm practically licking my screen right now!
Cocoa and Lavender says
I am with you, Paula - cake plus lemon is my favorite combination. I loved the daisy cake but this sounds even better. And blueberries and lemon? I think we have discussed this before - sheer perfection! - David
Kathy says
I love polenta in baked goods. This cake looks wonderful…love the blueberry sauce just dripping over it! Gorgeous photos!!
Sunithi Selvaraj, RD says
Love this ! Never cooked with polenta before and this looks great !! Love the combo of blue berries. Great pics too !!
Rosie @ Blueberry Kitchen says
Your cake looks so delicious, especially with the blueberry sauce!