LULLY LEMON VICTORIA POLENTA CAKE

So earlier in the year I made a lemon polenta tray bake and it was totes yummy. It got spotted online by some work buddies of mine and I was asked to make it for a meeting in work as a little treat for all the attendees. This was my cue to show off so I thought, "how can I make that lemon polenta cake even better?". Simple, bake two cakes and add a layer of lemon flavored whipped cream to sandwich them both together like a Victoria sponge. I'll call it my lemon Victoria polenta cake if you will!

Now this recipe is amazing as it is but you don't have to go through all the hassle of baking two and whipping all that cream and if you don't want too. You can do what I originally did and just make a delicious lemon polenta cake by pouring the whole batter into one deep sided 20cm square baking tin rather than dividing it between two round ones. You can then just soak it in the lemony sugar juice once they it's baked and leave out all the faff with the whipping of the cream. The cake is just as delicious on it's own trust me!

You can mix up the citrus in this recipe if you want to. As with most lemon based recipes this will work just as well if you use limes, oranges or even grapefruit (if you really want too - I hate the things!). Just be careful with the amount you use though. Whilst limes are often the same size as lemons, oranges and grapefruits can be a lot bigger so you might not want to use as many as 4 like I have in the recipe.

Now you may notice the odd shape of the cake in my pictures. This is because I baked the cake in a heart shaped tin to keep it in line with the theme of the meeting I was baking it for. The recipe below uses round baking tins as not everyone is going to have heart shaped baking tins in their kitchen but if you have, well then fill your boots. You should be able to get roughly 12 proper good slabs out of my recipe below, perfect for a little gathering or dinner party;

Lemon Victoria Polenta Cake

Softened Butter

Golden Caster Sugar

4 Whole Eggs

180g Flour

100g Polenta

4 Tbsp Ground Almonds

2 Tsp Baking Powder

Zest And Juice Of 4 Lemons

200ml Whipping Cream

1. Begin by placing your oven on to 180 degrees (160 fan) whilst you grease and line two 20cm round baking tins with baking paper.
2. Pop the butter and caster sugar into a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time beating after each addition until well combined.
3. In a second bowl, mix together the flour, polenta, almonds and baking powder and then slowly add this mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients, folding everything together until just combined and you can see no streaks of flour in the
   bowl.
4. Add in the zest and juice of 1 of the lemons, folding them through until just combined and then divide the cake batter equally between the two baking tins. 
5. Place the tins in the oven (on the same shelf if possible!) and bake for between 20-25 minutes until the top of the cakes are golden brown and an inserted skewer comes out clean.
6. Just before the cakes have finished baking, mix together 100g of caster sugar and the zest and juice of two further lemons and mix together until the sugar has dissolved as much as possible. 
7. When the cakes are done, remove them from the oven and prick them all over with a skewer before brushing them with the lemon sugar mix. Leave the cakes to fully cool in the tins before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
8. Once the cake has fully cool, take another bowl and add in the whipping cream with the remaining caster sugar, lemon zest and juice. Whisk until the cream thickens and forms soft peaks. Spread the cream over one of the lemon cakes, keeping ever so slightly away from the edges before placing the second cake on top. 

With that you are done! You now have a gorgeous pair of the most tart and moist lemon polenta cakes sandwiched together with a decadent layer of sweet lemon flavored whipped cream. The sponges are just jam packed with citrus flavors thanks to being soaked in that strong sugary lemon juice once they've come out of the oven. The polenta gives them a really great texture too whilst that creamy middle layer is just pure naughtiness. I do love my lemon cakes and this is a another delight to add to my list of lully lemon treats. One of the best? Possibly, you'll have to make one and decide for yourself!