Please allow me this bright and promising Monday morning to keep it one hundred percent real with you.  While this gluten free cake was buttery, nutty, bright with the flavor of lemon and perfectly sweet, the truth is, it ended up all over my floor.  Well… ok, bits on the floor, chunks on the counter, and pieces in my dirty sink.  Basically, this cake landed everywhere except the cake plate where I wanted it.

I salvaged a few if the larger pieces to mock up a pretty picture for you.  For a few moments I thought I might not even tell you about my cake accident.  But… see, my cake didn’t just land on the floor because I’m clumsy, but because I was taking baking liberties that I shouldn’t have.  Fact.

This cake taught me a small lesson about baking pan choices and cooking times.  It also helped me get my cake dropping out of the way for the next several months.  I only drop a cake every three months or so.  I feels good to be free and clear for a few months to come.

Here’s what you should know about this cake.  The crumb is held together with butter, almond flour and eggs.  While the cake is full of great flavor, it’s a bit crumbly.  To best work with the crumb of this cake, I think it would be best baked in mini loaf pans, or mini bundt pans, or those long and skinny loaf pans (6×2 1/2-inches) if you have them.  Cupcakes also worked out well, baking for 20 to 25 minutes, until the edges were nice and brown.  Regular sized, larger loaf pans will most likely create a cake that is sunken in the middle.  Bundt pans.. well that’s how I dropped my cake on the floor… no good.

When it comes to baking this beauty, you might be surprised when I say: longer is better.  We’re not looking for a lightly colored American style cake here.  We’re looking for a French brown:  a baked good left to bake until the sides are beautifully dark brown.  I think the longer cooking time will help the crumb stay together better.

I’m thinking my mistakes will help you create a better cake.  Go on… bake away!

Gluten Free Lemon, Almond and Polenta Cake

from Breakfast Lunch Tea, Rose Bakery

Print this recipe!

2 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened plus extra for greasing pans

2 1/4 cups sugar

grated zest of four lemons

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

6 eggs

5 1/2 cups ground almonds

2 cups polenta

1/2 cup rice or corn flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Butter eight mini bread tins and line the bottoms with parchment paper, or line 3 cupcake pans with foil cupcake liners.

Measure out the sugar and lemon zest.  With the back of a spoon or a plastic bench knife, rub the lemon zest into the sugar, creating a lemony and fragrant sugar.  Beat the butter and sugar until very light and creamy.  Add the lemon juice and the vanilla extract.  Add the eggs, one by one, beating well after each addition.

Mix together the flour, ground almonds, polenta, rice or corn flour, baking powder and salt and fold into the butter mixture.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tins and bake for 35-40 minutes (20-25 minutes for cupcakes) or until a knife inserted in the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool the cakes in their tins before taking them out.

Sift some powdered sugar over the cooled cakes for decoration.

Pop Quiz:

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of you life what would it be: sweet and creamy breakfast polenta with milk or (oh my gracious heavens) sweet and creamy fried polenta bars with blackberry meyer lemon jam?

No contest.  Fried polenta with blackberry jam every day, all day.  Let’s do this.

Remember yesterday I told you about Vanilla Brown Sugar Breakfast Polenta?  That was just a dirty trick to make you have enough leftover polenta to make the real deal:  fried polenta.

A quick heads up:  this recipe involves butter and results in an almost French Toast-ish, outta this world breakfast.  If you’re not ready for that… completely understandable… you might want to sit this one out.   I won’t judge.

Fried Breakfast Polenta

(Yes! Yes!! Yes!!!)

Print this recipe!

So here’s what you’re gonna do:

1.  Whip up a batch of Vanilla Brown Sugar Polenta.

2.  Have some for breakfast, rub it on your face… do whatever you wanna do with most of it, but just most of it.  Continue to simmer the polenta that you aren’t going to serve for breakfast.  This will help more water evaporate from the polenta and help your bars better stick together when they’re cold, sliced and ready for the skillet.  I had about 2 cups of cooked, creamy polenta left over after breakfast.

3.  Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap.  If you’re working with more polenta, you might want to use two loaf pans.

4.  Spread the cooled polenta into the lined loaf pan and cover by folding over the overhanging flaps of plastic wrap.

5.  Place in the fridge to cool and set overnight.

6.  Sleep.  Yawn.  Wake up smiling, thinking about fried polenta.

7. Remove the chilled plastic wrapped polenta from the loaf pan.  Unwrap.  You should have a thin (about 1 inch tall) brick of cold polenta.

8.  Use a big ol’ knife to cut the polenta into bars or squares… whatever you like.

9.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and a splash of vegetable (or grapeseed) oil in a skillet over medium heat.

10.  Place 1/2 cup all-purpose flour in a bowl.

11.  Dip the cold polenta bars in the flour, coating all sides.

12.  Placed dredged polenta in hot, buttered skillet.  I managed about 6 or 8 bars at a time in my skillet.

13.  Flip and turn the bars as they begin to brown.

14.  Brown all sides.  Sometimes that means turning the polenta bars on their heads to cook.

15.  Once cooked, remove from hot pan onto an oven proof plate.  Place in a very low (tops 200 degrees F) oven to stay warm while you cook the rest of the polenta.

16.  Serve with maple syrup, fancy jam or powdered sugar.

I don’t do dishes in the morning.  Dishes are no way to start the day.

While I am all about a big, fat, kitchen wrecking breakfast- morning clean up is absolutely nowhere in my early day itinerary.

The reality is, I may not get to have that perfect, sunny morning weekend wake up experience everday.  I am convinced, however, that there’s a way to put a smile on my face every morning… even if you have to force it on with a wrench.

When I’m in no mood to get out of bed and start my day I give myself this little speech in my head:  Joy,  stop being such a crabby pants.  Get out of bed, go put on that big robe that feels like a combination of cloud and kitten and make yourself breakfast without setting those robe sleeves on fire.  While you’re treating yourself to a fine morning… go ahead and take a break from those breakfast dishes.  You’ve done enough work just getting out of bed… The dishes can wait.

And just like that, the ugly Monday morning isn’t as nasty a beast as I thought.

Make Monday morning Vanilla Brown Sugar Breakfast Polenta, and let the dirty pan soak in the sink until you get home from work.  Live a little… don’t do the dishes.

What’s the deal with polenta?

Here’s what you need to know:  polenta is ground white or yellow cornmeal.  It is boiled with water or milk and made into a warm and super pleasing porridge.  The mixtures cooks up smooth and creamy and can be made either sweet or savory according to your needs.

The Moretti polenta I used is straight from Italy, although you can find it here it the states.  It’s dreamy.  The Moretti family has been making polenta in Lombardy since 1922.  Their corn is air dried then stone crushed.  It’s the real deal.  The polenta meal comes in different levels of coarseness.  I chose the fine grain meal because it cooks up faster and I love the texture for breakfast food.

Note:  If you have leftover polenta, don’t dump it!  Line a loaf pan with plastic wrap, add the leftover cooked polenta and cover with the overhanging plastic wrap.  Throw it in the fridge for a night or two, and I’ll show you how to make fried polenta sticks next!

Vanilla Brown Sugar Breakfast Polenta

Print this recipe!

1 cup polenta

3 cups cold water

2 cups whole milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

sprinkle of cinnamon (if desired)

In a small bowl measure out 1 cup of dried polenta.  Top with 1 cup cold water and stir.  Set aside.  In a medium saucepan add 2 cups cold water and 2 cups whole milk.  Bring to a low boil.  Add salt and stir.  Slowly add the polenta and water mixture, using a whisk to stir out any possible lumps.

Once all of the polenta is added, turn the flame to low and simmer, stirring frequently, until the polenta has thickened.  Depending on the coarseness of your meal, it may take 10-40 minutes.  Mine took about 10-12 minutes to cook.  Once thickened, add sugar and vanilla bean or vanilla extract.  Sprinkle cinnamon in if you life.

Place polenta in small bowls and top with milk and a sprinkle of additional brown sugar if you like.

Place leftover polenta in a lined loaf pan for fried polenta sticks as directed in the note above.