Orange Polenta Cake (Gluten Free, Moist & Easy)
Absolutely fantastic cake, I’ve just opened a cafe and need good gluten free recipes… AND keeps really well so it’s going to be a regular thing. Thanks so much! Cat
This delicious golden gluten-free orange polenta cake is moist, rich and bursting with zesty orange flavor. It’s easy to make as it has no layers, no filling and no icing.
The flavor of the cake is scrumptious if you love orange. I serve it with whipped cream, which I strongly recommend. The whipped cream balances the intensity of the orange perfectly.
The recipe comes from Chef Michele Lee-Pollack at My Place For Dinner Cooking School in Toronto, Canada. One evening, Michele guided me and a group of women through a home cooking class, and the highlight was the orange polenta cake. I became obsessed with it.
What to expect
The cake is moist, melt in your mouth and intensely orange, which I love.
I like that there are no layers, no filling and no icing (except the syrup drizzle) – simpler!
I made a couple of mistakes the first two times I tried it – one was too sweet for my taste and the other too gritty – but the cakes still tasted delicious. My husband and I had no trouble polishing them off. With two adjustments, this is a delicious recipe in my humble opinion 🙂
This polenta cake is great for any occasion, but particularly fitting for a shower, tea or brunch. Scratch that. It’s great after dinner too 🙂
Ingredients – tailored to your taste
- Polenta: Polenta is, in fact, cornmeal, but usually medium or coarse-ground. The first time I made the cake, I used medium ground cornmeal and found it too gritty. The second time I used finely ground cornmeal – much better and I recommend it. Here’s a good article explaining the different types of cornmeal by Bon Appetit.
- Ground almonds: Use finely ground almonds or almond flour. If you can’t find either, replace with almond meal (which is coarser)
- Orange syrup: This is just make with fresh oranges and honey.
Variations and Substitutes
- I love this cake with whipped cream best, but other good options are crème fraiche, yogurt or even lemon ice cream. Or nothing.
- Instead of chopped pistachios as a garnish, try roasted hazelnuts.
- I cut back the honey from the original recipe as I found the cake a little sweet for my taste. If you prefer it sweeter, add a bit more honey or pour more syrup onto the cake.
Step by step instructions
Recipe FAQs
Cardamom is a warm spice that has citrusy, floral and peppery notes. It is slightly sweet and some say has a hint of eucalyptus or mint. If needed you can substitute it with equal parts ground cinnamon and nutmeg, equal parts cinnamon and ginger or equal parts cinnamon and ground cloves, according to Serious Eats.
Ideally, you should use a scale to measure the dry ingredients in grams. If you don’t have one, I converted everything to cups in the recipe below.
More moist, delicious cakes
- moist apple cake recipe with bourbon caramel sauce
- best banana cake with chocolate icing
- carrot and pineapple cake
- zesty whole orange cake
Please leave a 5 star rating ***** with a comment in the recipe card below if you like the recipe, Thanks so much!
Orange Polenta Cake (Gluten Free)
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups finely ground almonds or almond flour if needed, replace with almond meal (courser)
- 2/3 cup cornmeal or polenta I prefer fine cornmeal as the texture is less grainy than coarse cornmeal.
- 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon baking powder gluten free
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks)
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- zest from 2 medium oranges (plus zest from a 3rd orange for garnish)
- Optional garnishes: chopped pistachios, additional zest, whipped cream
Orange Syrup (half will be used for pouring on cake, half for serving)
- juice from 2 whole oranges (navel oranges, blood oranges or any other kind) (about 1/2 cup fresh orange juice)
- 2 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- PREHEAT OVEN TO 350F/176C. Grease an 8 inch (20 cm) round, square or springform tin with butter or oil spray. Line bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- COMBINE FIRST 4 INGREDIENTS: Mix together ground almonds, cornmeal/polenta, cardamom and baking powder in a large bowl with a fork or whisk.
- PREPARE BATTER: In a separate mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy using an electric mixer (hand held is fine). Add one egg at a time, beating well after each egg. Add half the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat just until mixed. Repeat with other half. Fold in vanilla and zest of 2 oranges.
- BAKE: Pour batter (it will be very thick) into prepared tin. Bake for 40 minutes or until cake test/toothpick comes out clean. Remove pan and let cool for 10 minutes.
- MAKE SYRUP: While cake is baking, bring orange juice and honey to a boil in a small saucepan, then lower to medium heat and briskly simmer until reduced by about half and slightly thickened – about 8-10 minutes. It will still be quite liquidy. Let it cool.
- FINISH CAKE: Scrape a knife around sides of the pan to loosen cake. Invert onto plate, then invert it back to a serving plate so that the top is facing up. Poke holes through top of the cake all over with skewer or toothpick. Pour about HALF of syrup on cake, allowing it to absorb into the cake. Sprinkle orange zest on top to decorate as well as chopped pistachios if using. Serve with whipped cream, yogurt or crème fraiche if desired – and a drizzle of remaining syrup if you like.
Recipe Notes
- Recipe variations and substitutes:
- Cardamom (a warm spice): If needed you can substitute it with equal parts ground cinnamon and nutmeg, equal parts cinnamon and ginger or equal parts cinnamon and ground cloves, according to Serious Eats.
- Whipped cream recipe): Instead of whipped cream, use crème fraiche, yogurt or even lemon ice cream. Or nothing.
- Replace chopped pistachios with roasted hazelnuts.
- If you prefer a sweeter cake, add a bit more honey or pour more syrup onto the cake. (I reduced the honey from the original recipe as I found it too sweet).
- Make ahead:
- To store: The cake can be made ahead and kept covered at room temperature (or the fridge) for 4-5 days. I suggest bringing it to room temperature before serving or warming it for a few seconds in the microwave.
- To freeze: The cake can also be frozen after it’s cooled for up to a month. Wrap well in plastic and then in aluminum foil or in an airtight container. If freezing, omit the zest and pistachios (if using) and add them just before serving.
I made this recently and none of it ended up in the freezer because we ate the whole lot within a few days because it was so moreish…addictive.
I love that British term ‘moreish’ 🙂 Thanks for taking the time to leave a lovely comment Leigh!
Hi Kate
Can I use organic raw honey instead of white sugar
I haven’t tried that, but I did look it up and it seems to be possible with a few adjustments. Since honey is sweeter than sugar, it is recommended that you use 3/4 cup honey (instead of 1 cup sugar). Add a rounded tablespoon more polenta. And reduce the baking temperature by 25F (15C). I hope that works if you try it!
Absolutely fantastic cake, I’ve just opened a cafe and need good gf recipes. Made this twice, it’s delicious AND keeps really well so it’s going to be a regular thing. Thanks so much!
We are honored! Thank you Cat! All the very best with your new cafe. What is the name of it and where is it located if I may ask?
Could this cake be made with olive oil rather than butter? I need it to be gluten free and dairy free for a guest over Christmas.
Thanks so much.
Kate
Hi Kate, You might be better off with a vegan margarine (dairy free), but I read that you can also replace the butter with olive oil if you use less. In this case, use 3/4 cup oil (180 ml). I would suggest a lighter tasting olive oil so as not to overpower the other flavors. Also, the cake may take a little less time to bake so start checking a bit earlier. I hope that helps and, if you have a minute, please let use know how it works out as other dairy-free readers might be interested. Thanks!
This is a brilliant cake. It has become a firm favourite in my family and is a go to for any occasion. I get so many compliments for it.
Thank you Jane – what a lovely comment 🙂
Gorgeous recipe. I’ve made it many times now. I like to add a little rosewater and a bit more cardamom (maybe mine is not very powerful as freshly ground). Delicious and keeps well.. If you can leave it alone ??
Thank you Zelma! Glad you enjoyed it and I agree with the ‘if you can leave it alone’ part 🙂
I needed to add 3/4 cup of orange juice to the wet mixture because
the almond meal absorbs a lot of moisture. End product was very soft but not wet. And delicious.
Glad it worked out well with your adjustment. Thanks for sharing.
This is a lovely dessert, made it twice, a hit every time. thanks for sharing it
You are very welcome! Thanks for leaving a comment Karmia. Much appreciated.
Could I swap butter for olive oil, for a dairy-free friend?! Thanks 🙂
Hi Nicky. I haven’t tried it, but usually you would use 3/4 of the amount of olive oil instead of butter. So, for this recipe, you will need 3/4 cup olive oil instead of 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) of butter. Let us know how it turns out!
The batter is Thick. I doubled the recipe so maybe i miscalculated but it’s like cookie dough thick. It’s in the oven now so I’ll see how it turns out!
It is a very thick batter. Hope it turns out well!
Instead of the orange honey glaze, I added bittersweet Chocolate to the mixture and gave the plate a pool for the cake to sit in.
Love that combo!
Oh my. That sounds fabulous Amy. Thanks for sharing!
I made this cake today. I used a mix of orange and grapefruit, as I had only one of each in the fridge. And when I reduced the syrup on the stove, I dropped a cardamom pop into the liquid (removing it before pouring over cake). It is SO TASTY! Thank you for this recipe. It really is such a yummy cake.
I love your tweaks! Thanks for sharing Jenni.
Loved this recipe. Making it for a wine/food pairing dinner and the winemaker needs GF foods. Now that I’ve mastered the GF recipe can you tell me how to make it with regular flour ingredients for the other guests? I’m not sure other recipes would have the intense flavors. Thx!
So glad you loved the recipe. Perhaps the other guests would like the gluten free version too. Converting the recipe to regular flour is a bit tricky I think. Replacing the almond flour with half the amount of all purpose flour should be ok. But the cornmeal is different. I’m not sure you can successfully replace that with flour. May I suggest our whole orange cake instead? It also has a similar intense orange flavor like the orange polenta cake. Here’s the link https://twokooksinthekitchen.com/whole-orange-cake-super-moist/. I hope that helps.
17 of my friends and myself can confirm this is probably one of most delicious cakes ever! (One said that it was definitely the very best she had ever had).
I used to make lemon polenta cake but orange takes it to the wholly new level. I like the method too – makes the cake really fluffy.
My oven isn’t great and I have to bake it for longer at a lower temperature.
Oh my, I am so thrilled to hear that Karolina! Thank you for the comment. Made my day!
Hi Anne. According to BBC Good Food, the answer is yes. They say “Quick-cook or instant polenta takes just a few minutes to make as it comes part cooked, but purists may sniff at such a shortcut. This variant is, however, ideal for using in cakes”. Let us know how it turns out!
Followed recipe exactly (weighed ingredients) toothpick came out clean but middle of cake sunk badly and bottom of pan very greasy. I’m afraid to serve it to guests.
Hi Viv, Sorry to hear your cake sunk in the middle. Cakes can be finicky. A couple of things come to mind. I assume you used baking powder and not baking soda. Is it possible your oven temperature is off? Most are. So the cake may have been under baked. It’s also best to bake it in the middle rack position. One other possibility it undermixing the batter. In any case, at this point you can serve the outer part of the cake and cut out the center that is not fully baked, if that helps.
I made this cake. Came out of the oven looking perfect, but what a disaster when it came to cutting it. It was as dry as a biscuit, not even the syrup could save it!
I used Gluten free flour instead a Almond Mehl otherwise the ingredients were the same. What went wrong?
Adding some dark chocolate chips takes it to a whole new level, if you like that sort of thing!
Great idea. I’m going to have to try that. Thanks!
Oh I loved this! So delicious
Thank you. So happy to hear that. ?
Can the recipe be made with oat flour instead of almond flour: nut allergies
I know the flavour profile will be different but will it still be tasty?
Hi Madelon, I found this good article on what you can substitute for almond flour https://www.laurafuentes.com/almond-flour-substitute/. It looks like oat flour will work. Thanks for checking in. The article may help other readers as well. Good luck.
Made it, ate it, loved it!!!
So glad! Love this cake too!
Made this for friends with one on that celiac kind of restricted diet! a total winner!
Glad you enjoyed it Kathy!