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    Home » recipes » Dessert

    Orange Polenta Cake

    Published: Mar 14, 2021 · Modified: Feb 22, 2023 by Radwa · This post may contain affiliate links. 6 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Orange Polenta Cake is a simple Italian-style cake made with cornmeal and fresh orange juice.

    This citrus cake has a crumbly texture and a beautiful golden colour. This Italian cake recipe is so simple but tastes very rich and delicious.

    Orange Polenta Cake in a serving plate
    Jump to:
    • What is polenta? 
    • Why this recipe works?
    • Orange Polenta Cake Ingredients
    • How to Make The Best Orange Polenta Cake?
    • Top Tips!
    • Some Variations
    • Topping Options
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Recipe FAQs
    • Tools Used in Making Polenta Cake:
    • More Cake Recipes
    • Easy cake recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    What is polenta? 

    Polenta is an Italian dish (not an ingredient) made with boiled cornmeal. This dish can be eaten in so many ways; it can be severed hot like porridge or baked like a cake. Because cornmeal is usually the main ingredient of the polenta dish, when you see the term "polenta," it refers to cornmeal.

    Why this recipe works?

    • It satisfies your sweet tooth.
    • Makes an easy and delicious breakfast.
    • Inexpensive dessert
    Orange Polenta Cake

    Orange Polenta Cake Ingredients

    • Polenta (Cornmeal): You can use either fine or coarse cornmeal; however, in this recipe, I use coarse cornmeal. 
    • All-Purpose Flour: Measure the flour well.
    • Olive Oil: Canola or avocado oil will work as well.
    • Baking Powder: Use good quality baking powder.
    • Eggs: Use 3 large eggs at room temperature
    • Unsalted Butter: Softened
    • Plain Yoghurt: Use whole plain yoghurt, or you can replace it with sour cream.
    • Sugar: You can use either granulated sugar or caster sugar.
    • Orange: This recipe will use fresh orange juice and grated orange zest.
    • Salt: If you are using salted butter in this recipe, you can skip adding salt.
    • Powdered Sugar: To sprinkle on top of the cake.
    Orange Polenta Cake in a plate

    How to Make The Best Orange Polenta Cake?

    Preparations: Preheat the oven to 350F/ 175C.
    Line an 8-inch springform or baking pan with parchment paper or grease well with butter.

    Combining the Dry Ingredients: In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder and set aside.

    combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder

    Combining the Wet Ingredients: In another mixing bowl, whisk sugar and eggs using an electric whisk until the mixture becomes pale. Now, add yoghurt, lemon juice and zest, oil, and butter; mix well until combined.

    whisk sugar and eggs using an electric whisk
    Pour the cornmeal mixture over the egg mixture

    Combining All the Ingredients: Pour the cornmeal mixture over the egg mixture, mix well. Pour all the batter into the baking pan and bake for 40 minutes. To know if the cake is fully baked, insert a toothpick in the centre of the cake; if it comes out clean (nothing on it), the cake will be good.
    Allow the cake to cool down, then sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of it.

    Polenta Cake in a plate

    Top Tips!

    • Using fine or coarse cornmeal will only affect the cake's texture, not the taste; however, I prefer to use coarse cornmeal because I like the gritty texture.
    • You can sprinkle orange zest on top of the cake instead of powdered sugar for an extra orange flavour (if you like).
    • If you like it nutty, just sprinkle some chopped nuts of your choice (such as almond or walnut) on top of the batter before baking it.

    Some Variations

    • You can substitute olive oil with cooking oil or avocado oil.
    • Substitute orange juice and zest with lemon juice and zest, if you like.
    • You can replace the butter with more olive oil (the same amount).
    orange Polenta Cake slice

    Topping Options

    Feel free to substitute powdered sugar (topping) with whipped cream.

    You can also top it with an orange glaze. To make the orange glaze, put 100ml of orange juice and half a cup of sugar (granulated or caster) in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a boil, then let it simmer for 4-5 minutes. After that, turn the heat off and let it cool down completely before drizzling it over the cake.

    Serving Suggestions

    This cake is so delicious plain; however, you can serve it with some fresh fruits or a cup of a cold or hot drink. For me, I love to serve it with a cup of cold milk.

    slices of orange Polenta Cake

    Recipe FAQs

    Is polenta gluten-free?

    Yes, since it is made from corn, it is gluten-free. In fact, it is a good substitute for pasta.

    How to store and freeze polenta cake?

    Storing this Orange Polenta Cake is so simple. Cut it into medium-sized pieces the put into an airtight container in the fridge. It will last for 4-5 days. To freeze polenta cake, put it in a well-sealed container in the freezer for 2-3 months. Let it thaw at room temperature.

    You don't like the polenta cake to have a crumbly texture?

    The percentage of cornmeal to flour is what determines if the cake will be crumbly or not. I use 1 cup polenta to ¾ cup flour in this recipe because I prefer it to be a bit crumbly. If you want it less crumbly, use 1 cup flour to ¾ cup cornmeal. Also, you can use fine cornmeal instead of coarse.

    Polenta Cake is a simple Italian-style cake

    Tools Used in Making Polenta Cake:

    • Measuring cups: To measure all the ingredients.
    • Electric whisk: To mix the eggs and sugar well.
    • Baking pan: Used in baking the cake.

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    • Golden syrup cake
    • Coffee cake with coffee cream frosting
    • Blueberry and peach dump cake

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    Recipe

    Orange Polenta Cake
    Print Pin
    5 from 12 votes

    Orange Polenta Cake

    Orange Polenta Cake is a simple Italian-style cake made with cornmeal and fresh orange juice. This citrus cake has a crumbly texture and a beautiful golden colour.
    Course Dessert
    Cuisine Italian
    Keyword Orange Polenta Cake, Polenta Cake
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 50 minutes
    Servings 12 servings
    Calories 223kcal
    Author Radwa

    Equipment

    • Springform
    • Measuring spoons
    • Measuring cups
    • Mixing bowl

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup polenta , or ground cornmeal
    • ¾ cup all-purpose flour
    • 1 cup sugar
    • ½ cup plain yogurt
    • 1.5 tablespoon baking powder
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 3 eggs
    • 1 tablespoon grated fresh orange zest
    • 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
    • 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • 3 tablespoon Powdered sugar , for topping

    Instructions

    • Preheat the oven to 350F/ 175C.
    • Line an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper or grease well with butter.
    • In a mixing bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
    • In another mixing bowl, whisk sugar and eggs using an electric whisk until the mixture becomes pale. Now, add yoghurt, lemon juice and zest, oil, and butter; mix well until combined.
    • Pour the egg mixture over the cornmeal mixture, mix well. Pour all the batter into the baking pan and bake for 40 minutes. To know if the cake is fully baked, insert a toothpick in the centre of the cake; if it comes out clean (nothing on it), the cake will be good.
    • Allow the cake to cool down, then sprinkle some powdered sugar on top of it.

    Notes

    • Using fine or coarse cornmeal will only affect the cake's texture, not the taste; however, I prefer to use coarse cornmeal because I like the gritty texture.
    • You can sprinkle orange zest on top of the cake instead of powdered sugar for an extra orange flavour (if you like).
    • If you like it nutty, just sprinkle some chopped nuts of your choice (such as almond or walnut) on top of the batter before baking it.

    Some Variations

    • You can substitute olive oil with cooking oil or avocado oil.
    • Substitute orange juice and zest with lemon juice and zest, if you like.
    • You can replace the butter with more olive oil (the same amount).

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1serving | Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 33g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 294mg | Potassium: 83mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 128IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 1mg

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    If you have a question about this Orange Polenta Cake recipe, please leave a comment or contact me via the contact page. And if you make this recipe, don't forget to rate it and let me know how it turned out in the comment section below. Thanks for visiting my blog.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Willow

      March 15, 2021 at 11:23 am

      5 stars
      Loved it. Used Swerve sugar for healthier cake! The orange really goes so well with it.

      Reply
    2. Leah

      March 15, 2021 at 5:43 pm

      5 stars
      This polenta cake is amazing and so easy! I Didn't have orange, so I used lemon instead.

      Reply
    3. Beth

      March 17, 2021 at 3:38 pm

      5 stars
      I Made this Polenta cake yesterday. It was so easy, and the smell in the kitchen was amazing.

      Reply
    4. Heba

      March 18, 2021 at 10:13 am

      5 stars
      I am making this cake for the second time, and every time I make it, I can't wait until it comes out of the oven! This time I substituted orange for limes. To be honest, I don't know which is better because both are so delicious.

      Reply
    5. Ivy

      March 20, 2021 at 5:30 pm

      5 stars
      My family and I love polenta cakes so much especially the one with orange, and I tried this easy recipe, and the cake was just perfect.

      Reply
    6. Zoey

      March 21, 2021 at 8:07 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks, Radwa, for this amazing recipe. My family and I loved it.

      Reply

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    Hello! I’m Radwa, A wife and mother. Also, I am the recipe maker and food photographer behind Healthy Life Trainer. I love making new, simple and quick recipes every day.

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