Lemon cheese polenta cakes recipe

Our lemon cheese polenta cakes are so easy to make and speedy too. These Italian style lemon cakes made with polenta and cream cheese. Easy baking for afternoon tea and gluten-free too! This recipe makes 10 cakes and will take only 40 mins to make and decorate them all. They're perfect for sharing and great if you're trying to be a little bit healthier when it comes to your favourite cake.

Ingredients

• 1 lemon
• 90g (3oz) unsalted butter
• 60g (2oz) caster sugar, plus 2 tbsp
• 90g (3oz) coarse polenta (found in most supermarkets)
• 90g (3oz) ground almonds 
• 6 tbsp cream cheese
• 2 tbsp lemon curd
• 10 patty tins lined with small squares of Bakewell paper

Method

1. Set the oven to Gas Mark 3 or 160°C. Pare strips of rind from the lemon and set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, then mix in the polenta, ground almonds and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Roll into a cylinder and cut into 10 slices. Roll each portion into a ball, put in the cases and make a thumb-mark depression in each. Bake for 20-25 mins until golden. Leave in the tins for 10 mins. Cool on a wire rack.
3. Meanwhile, cut the lemon parings into fine shreds. Put 2 tbsp sugar with 3 tbsp cold water in a small pan and simmer until the sugar dissolves, then add the lemon shreds and cook for 4 mins until just softening. Leave in the syrup to cool.
4. Soften the cheese and beat in the lemon curd. Put spoonfuls of lemon cheese on each cake and decorate with lemon strands.