This cake is a sort of Anglo-Italian amalgam. The flat, plain disc is reminiscent of the confections that sit geometrically arranged in patisserie windows in Italy; the sharp, syrupy sogginess borrows from the classic English teatime favourite, the lemon drizzle cake. It is a good marriage: I love Italian cooking in all respects save one - I find their cakes both too dry and too sweet. Here, though, the flavoursome grittiness of the polenta and tender rubble of ground almonds provide so much better a foil for the wholly desirable dampness than does the usual flour. But there is more to it than that. By some alchemical process, the lemon highlights the eggy butteriness of the cake, making it rich and sharp at the same time. If you were to try to imagine what lemon curd would taste like in cake form, this would be it.
Recipe posted by Nigella
Tried this recipe?
Why not leave a comment or a suggestion?
Please note, questions and queries for the nigella.com
Add Commentteam cannot be answered here - please instead submit
any questions as "Kitchen Queries".
It's the best thing I've ever done in my kitchen! :)
Posted by allmyloving on 4th May 2011 at 21.26
Hey Nigella! My name is Morgan and I'm from Australia.. I'm a very big fan of yours and love your recipes. For me and my little family they are relatable and affordable. I love the sound of this cake. Ive always had an interest in polenta and have only really made egg plant dipped in egg and then in polenta an then pan fried..that tastes soo good. But I will definitely give this one ago!!
Posted by MorganDavis on 4th Jun 2011 at 9.24
Very nice- lemony and buttery. Nice summery flavor. Very moist as described. I used unpeeled almonds. The recipe didn't specify. I didn't get the bright yellow as pictured but I don't think that made a difference in the flavor. Baked for 35 minutes and tester came out clean. Cake not wobbly , wibbly, whatever. Would make again.
Posted by serafinadellarosa on 14th Jun 2011 at 15.09
I made this for my mother's birthday and it came out quite good! 2 little brown spots unfortunately, but I don't bake a lot so I'm very happy with the result!! And it tastes really yummy!
Posted by DesiChan on 19th Aug 2011 at 22.31
Gorgeous! Especially with a little bit of cream......
Posted by dale down on 4th Oct 2011 at 6.13
A very nice lemon, moist flavour and absolute keeper!
Posted by Stany on 1st Nov 2011 at 10.10
This is an awesome cake!! I'm considered a domestic goddess after I made it for friends and I keep getting repeated requests for it for every party :-)) Thank you sooo much Nigella......
Posted by meenalp on 30th Jan 2012 at 14.35
Hi Nigella, Greetings from Australia! I had to make this cake after seeing you bake it on your tv show. How beautiful! So sour and delightful! And so easy!! I will be making this cake for parties and events, it's just sooo good!! Thanks for the awesome recipes!
Posted by PorschaC on 3rd Feb 2012 at 6.58
I made your cake OMG it was amazing and everyone who tasted it thought so too Thankyou for sharing it with us cheers Kriswl
Posted by Kriswl on 10th Feb 2012 at 9.40
Hi Nigella, or as we say in Brazil. Oi! I follow you and your recipies since I was still in Brazil, now I am in Germany,Frankfurt, and just love everything you do! Just to let you know this recipe we could call, in portuguese, "Bolo de Fuba", with the extra lemon thing!!! Well, I will try and let you know how similar the taste is. See you, Andrea Esposel xx
Posted by andreaesposel on 13th Feb 2012 at 21.17
This is utterly gorgeous! I saw this on tv and had to try it! Will definitely be one of my staples!
Posted by mariababe81 on 23rd Feb 2012 at 8.33
This is lovely for a dessert rather than teatime cake as it's so moist! Great served with whipped cream or ice cream.
Posted by english-rose on 28th Feb 2012 at 16.13
Saw it in TV!!, and made at home on monday!! a true success!! greetings from Chile
Posted by Veropol on 5th Jul 2012 at 1.10
This looks delicious, and when shopping I made sure I bought the ingredients necessary for it. I just saw the episode again today. One thing: I would very humbly like to point out that "polenta" is a dish made from various ground grains, not an ingredient. There is corn meal that is ground expressly to make the dish polenta, and labeled "polenta", which has led people to believe that it is an ingredient. The Romans in fact made polenta from ground buckwheat before they were introduced to corn, and it still can be made from other grains. That being said...you could still call this "polenta cake" because it resembles the dish....in cake form. Please excuse me for being Mrs. Know-It-All. I absolutely love your show and I love your approach to food and cooking.
Posted by lagentille on 12th Jul 2012 at 18.18
I made this cake and brought it into work. It turned out exactly like Nigella described it! Some people absolutely loved it and some people didn't like the grainy texture. Overall an elegant cake!
Posted by SpiceCakes on 18th Sep 2012 at 1.48
After having made this for the first time, I'm selfish enough to admit I could quite possibly eat this all by myself! This cake also pairs wonderfully with plain yoghurt (the thickest kind) or for the more devil in you...clotted cream! Thank you Nigella! X
Posted by penster on 27th Sep 2012 at 20.11
the perfect cake. i prefer it with hard lemon icing instead of a drizzle, but this is only a personal preference. ive made a dark marmalade version which was amazing. might try a lime one sometime, but lemon IS perfect.
Posted by yourfriendsfriend on 28th Oct 2012 at 20.55
Congratulations on being an inspiring artist in the kitchen. I made this and was showered with compliments. Eventually I gave you the credit! It is delicious and very more-ish.
Posted by alibas on 8th Nov 2012 at 8.31
Wow, it's so delicious!
Posted by libor4u on 11th Nov 2012 at 14.27
This cake is lush! I made it for my step father who has to have a gluten free diet and he loves it. Well done Nigella, yet another triumph!!
Posted by PennyEdwards2 on 12th Jan 2013 at 16.37
Most wonderful cake, made it a few times and always a hit. Tried a orange version once, but then without sugar in the syrup, but still prefer the lemon.
Posted by tvdm on 2nd Mar 2013 at 13.55
I made this as a birthday cake for a friend who is wheat intolerant and trying to avoid refined sugar. I replaced the sugar (both in the cake and the 'drizzle') with the same weight in organic runny honey. This beat really well into the butter and easily blended into the lemon juice. To avoid the gritty texture I par cooked the corn meal first, adding boiling water a little at a time over a low heat, as you would with risotto rice untill the granules had softened. Apart from that, I followed the recipe exactly and it all turned out fantastically! A lovely light, lemony, soft, moist cake, which went wonderfully well with thick clotted cream.
Posted by drizzle on 28th Apr 2013 at 15.25
This is a superb quick and easy recipe. However, I found it a little too sweet for my taste - even using 3/4 cup of baking sweetener (instead of sugar), so next time I'll use a little less. Also, I used limes instead of lemons for that extra tang.
Posted by ThisOldHag on 12th May 2013 at 11.22