Ricotta and Almond Polenta Cake

After I made the spelt scones with blueberries and lemon, I was so encouraged to create more recipes using alternative flours. But truth be told, since last week my experience with creating my own recipes using brown rice, spelt, and buckwheat flours haven’t been an easy one. So much so that I am about to start a blog called not-so-foolproof living. I

kid you not, if I had that URL I would probably post much more frequently that I have been posting lately. One recipe after another turned out to be a disaster.

So yesterday, after my latest failure, I decided to stop trying and leave it to the pros. I spent the morning scrolling through the pages of my favorite cookbooks to find recipes that I can bake from. This Ricotta and Almond Cake with Polenta is from Green Kitchen Stories’ second cookbook, Green Kitchen Travels. The original name for the cake is Torte di ricotta e Polenta. They say this is the kind of cake you can find in every deli in Italy.

What I love about the recipe is that it only uses half a cup of honey to sweeten it. So you do not have to feel guilty for eating a big slice of it. Also, it is perfect for those, who follow a gluten-free diet because it is made using a combination of almond flour and cornmeal (aka polenta), both of which are gluten-free flours. If you can, I recommend baking it a day in advance as I thought the next morning it tasted so much more flavorful and moist than the first day. But whatever you do, make sure to serve it with a cup of coffee (or tea). I promise you will know why after you taste your first bite.

Can’t get enough of almond flour recipes? Here are a few more:

• Almond Flour Carrot Cake
• Almond Meal Banana Bread
• Almond Flour Zucchini Bread
• Paleo Almond Flour Bread
• Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes
• Need more inspiration? Check out all our almond flour recipes

Ricotta and Almond Polenta Cake {Gluten-Free}

By Aysegul Sanford

Yields: 8

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 45 mins

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins

This gluten-free and honey sweetened ricotta and almond polenta cake is a healthier cake that will impress everyone in your family.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• 7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2/3 cup honey divided
• zest of 3 lemons
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 eggs separated
• 1 1/4 cup (5 oz.) almond flour (or meal)
• 1 cup (4 1/2 ounces) fine yellow or white corn meal
• 1 cup ricotta cheese preferably homemade
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon powdered sugar optional

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees. Line an 8-inch round spring-form cake pan with parchment paper.
• Beat the butter, half of the honey, lemon zest, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a standing mixer attached with the paddle attachment. If you do not have a standing mixer, hand mixer would work too.
• Add in the egg yolks and continue to mix until combined or a minute or so.
• Add in the almond flour, corn meal, and ricotta cheese and mix until combined. Set aside.
• Meanwhile, whisk egg whites until softly peaking. You can do this by hand or a mixer (attached with a whisk attachment). While still whisking, slowly drizzle the rest of the honey and mix until well blended.
• Gently fold the egg whites into the cake mixture in two batches.
• Pour the mixture into the cake pan. Sprinkle almonds on top.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
• Let it cool for 30 minutes and then run a knife through the edges of the cake and take it out of the cake pan.
• If you prefer, sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve.

Notes

The note below is from the original recipe:
"After 40-45 minutes of baking time, the centre of the cake might look slightly wobbly at first, but it will firm up as the cake cools down."
This didn't happen to me, but I wanted to make sure to mention it just in case it happens to you.

Nutrition

Calories: 459kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 124mg | Sodium: 60mg | Potassium: 209mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 562IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 137mg | Iron: 2mg

Course: Cake, Gluten-Free Cake

Cuisine: American

Keywords: almond polenta cake, ricotta polenta cake

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Recipe adapted from Luisa and David Vindahl’s cookbook Green Kitchen Travels.