Can The Lemon Polenta Cake With Olive Oil Be Made Lighter?

Asked by KMPerring. Answered on 2nd March 2023

Full question

I've made the Lemon Polenta Cake several times in the past with great success. I made it today with light olive oil instead of butter. The mixture was quite heavy and resembled creamy polenta, it took an age to cook, and unfortunately hasn’t really worked. I’m not sure if I did something wrong?

Lemon Polenta Cake

By Nigella

Our answer

Nigella's Lemon Polenta Cake (from KITCHEN) is a gluten-free cake made with polenta and ground almonds (almond meal). The cake can be made with butter or a mild olive oil. If using oil you need less, so you should use 150ml (2/3 cup) oil rather than 200g (1 3/4 sticks) butter.

The olive oil version will be slightly denser as it is difficult to whisk as much air into the mixture if you use olive oil. You could try starting the recipe by whisking the sugar, oil and eggs until they are pale and aerated. If you use a free-standing mixer then it is easier to use the balloon whisk attachment rather than the paddle attachment. After that, fold in the dry ingredients and the lemon zest and then bake.