Super moist lemon polenta cake with some ricotta cheese for moisture and served with a gorgeous blueberry sauce. The texture is dense, sweet and a change to the usual sponge cakes.
Though lately, my citrus palate has weighed towards grapefruits and tangerines, probably because they're the underdogs of the group, there's no denying that lemon + cake are the first words that come to mind when there is a citrus theme and I need a recipe.
I know, as if I didn't have enough recipes already in this blog... lemon curd cupcakes, lemon almond pound cake, lemon loaf cake with limoncello glaze, late harvest citrus cake, lemon blueberry crumb cake, daisy cake, and my favorite lemon poppy seed cake.
Images of sun, spring, vibrant colors and summer come right after. And when it comes to flavor, the acid freshness of citrus, in general, is what makes it a favorite.
I've been meaning to make a polenta cake for the longest time.
I'm a polenta groupie. It's one of the things that I ate all the time as a kid and loved it, unlike fish, which I hate.
And it pairs so ridiculously well with lemons that I'm really happy to share this recipe with you.
The list of ingredients talks of a cake that is sweet, wonderfully humid but somewhat coarse. For me, it's all I like in a cake, because I not only love polenta for baking but ricotta and honey as well.
And then the lemony blueberries to top it off. So tart, they made me pucker. If puckering is not your thing, increase the sugar in the sauce or decrease the lemon juice.
Do you have other berries? Use them. Or make a much milder sauce with figs, such as the ones in the brown butter pound cake.
The season has changed, yet the last few days have been very warm. Flip flop warm. And we're on a six-day Easter holiday here. Yep, until next Wednesday. Very lazy days these are turning out to be.
So go make something sweet or tart or both or savory set the table, put some flowers in a vase, invite your friends, add your family and celebrate something. There's always something to give thanks for.
Other recipes you might like:
Lemon Blueberry Cake
Lemon-Lime Pound Cake
Lemon Cream Loaf
Lemon Blueberry Crumb Cake
Blueberry Applesauce Loaf
Orange Ricotta Cheesecake
Orange Blackberry Muffin Loaf
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If you don't want a very tart sauce, increase the sugar by an additional 1/4 cup or decrease the lemon juice by half.
Ingredients
For lemon polenta cake:
- 1 cup polenta or yellow cornmeal
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup ricotta
- 1/3 cup tepid water
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup honey
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 8 Tbs 115g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1 Tbs butter (in bits and chilled)
- 2 large eggs
For blueberry sauce:
- 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
Instructions
For lemon polenta cake:
- Preheat oven to 350º. Line bottom of a 9-inch (24cm) springform cake pan with parchment paper and spray or butter sides of pan.
- Mix polenta, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
- In a bowl with an electric mixer, beat ricotta and water until smooth. If it's still be somewhat curdled, don't worry. Add sugar, honey and lemon zest and beat well. Gradually add melted butter and then add eggs, one at a time, and beat until the mixture is smooth.
- On low speed, add the dry ingredients in two or three additions, beating only until incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the pan, dot the top with the tablespoon of chilled butter and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the top is golden and a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Let cool completely on a wire rack, unmold onto a serving plate, sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve with the blueberry sauce.
For the blueberry sauce:
- In a saucepan mix blueberries, lemon juice and sugar.
- Cook for about 5 minutes at medium low heat, until syrupy and the berries are somewhat wrinkled.
Notes
- Sauce: if tart is not your thing, increase the sugar in the sauce or decrease the lemon juice.
- Berries: do you have other berries? Use them.
Keywords: polenta cake, lemon polenta cake
You know I adore lemon! A compelling and vibrant dessert!
In the U.S. there are no Easter holidays, only spring break for students. So enjoy!
I've made a caramel polenta cake from Dorie that was out of this world. I'm sure this adaptation is also exceptional.
Oh, this looks like one fantastic cake, Paula! And the blueberry sauce is a gorgeous topping. Happy, happy Easter!!! xo
Paula - this is beautiful, I adore polenta! Happy Easter!
Oh you've posted the perfect recipe for me to try!I have yellow cornmeal sitting in my pantry for far too long and now I know exactly what I'm going to do with it!The blueberry lemon combo sounds wonderful!!Gorgeous pics too 🙂
Paula, this cake is beyond amazing. I will need to make a special batch of my vegan ricotta to give your polenta cake a try. I also love polenta in every form and have never thought that it could be used for a cake. Thank you and Happy Easter to you 🙂 ~ Bea
WOW! I have never made a polenta cake, but now I must! Esp when you throw in two of my favorite flavors of lemon and blueberry! Happy Sunday, Paula!
Every time I come by here, I drool... I absolutely love, love, looooove this cake!! Gorgeous photos, Paula.
Happy Easter, my friend!! xo
I love the sauce! Yum!
Looks heavenly with berry sauce!!
I have never tried a polenta cake before but I think I would love yours. Lemon and Blueberries together just marry together nicely in any dish.
I've been looking for a good polenta cake recipe and this one sounds absolutely divine! And I'm with you on the lemon+cake=happy 🙂
I love Polenta cakes...and I know they go perfectly with lemon. Plus, blueberry and lemon are totally best buds, so this sounds like it may be the PERFECT cake! Beautiful, Paula.
Paula, that look delicious and your photos are stunning. I love your cake box. Have a wonderful Easter.
Polenta is really lovely in cakes and I really like what you did here. Beautiful job, Paula!
I have always wanted to make a polenta cake. I should just come over and you can feed me some of this instead!
Recently I tackled making my first olive oil cake and the next on my list is a polenta cake. Seeing your absolutely beautiful cake inspires me to move it up on the to-do list. Wow Paula. It's really stunning.
I have also wanted to make a polenta cake for the longest time! This one looks perfection and fabulous with the blueberry sauce! I just imagine that blueberries must be the best with the polenta and the lemon. Gorgeous and mouthwatering!
Tengo ganas de experimentar con polenta, no es un ingrediente muy común aquí 😉 thanx for the recipe!
I've made polenta cake with apples and walnuts before but lemon and ricotta is an intriguing mix. I love both ingredients so why not?
And with your breezy, easy invite and recipe to pour blueberry sauce over the cake, stick some flowers in a vase, I'm ready to put my feet up and enjoy a piece! Oh right, I need to bake it first. Well, at least I've got your stellar recipes now.