Gluten free lemon polenta cake

This week was my Mum's birthday. I made her a gluten free birthday cake so that all of us (even those gluten intolerant in the family) could enjoy it. The cake is best enjoyed with a good dollop of mascarpone (or clotted cream, seeing as I'm are from the Westcountry) because it is so lemony! I used the BBC Good Food recipe, but adjusted the quantities of polenta and ground almonds.

Because you boil the lemons that go into the cake to make them blend-able, the cake takes a couple of hours to complete - just to forewarn you!

To make a gluten free lemon polenta cake you will need:
2 lemons (you'll actually need a total of 3 as you also need one for the drizzle!)
140g soft butter
250g caster sugar
3 eggs
150g polenta
225g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder

140g caster sugar
The juice of 1 lemon

Mascarpone or clotted cream to serve

Begin by popping your 2 lemons in a saucepan, covering with boiling water and leaving to simmer with a lid over for a good hour until the lemons are really soft. Top up the water when necessary. Drain the lemons and when you're able to handle them, slice so that you can remove any pips and pop in a blender to form a lemon purée.

Preheat the oven to 170C and grease and line a large loose-bottomed cake tin.

Beat the soft butter and sugar together. Add in the 3 eggs and beat. Stir in the polenta, ground almonds and baking powder and finish by adding the blitzed lemon.

Pour the cake into the prepared tin and bake for 40 minutes, checking to ensure the top isn't browning. The cake is ready when it is golden and has shrunk away from the sides of the tin. Remove from the oven and prepare the drizzle by mixing the sugar and lemon juice together. Pour this over the cake while it is still warm.

Allow to cool in the tin before serving with a dollop of mascarpone or clotted cream.

I think this is a really lovely cake, regardless of whether you follow a gluten free diet, or if it's your birthday!

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