Made with pistachios, almonds and polenta for texture, this gluten-free cake is beautifully moist. Check the brands of polenta and baking powder you’re using are suitable for those on a gluten-free diet, if necessary.
This cake is almost too pretty to eat! A polenta and almond sponge is flavoured with raspberries and pistachios and served with crème fraîche. It would make for a fabulous birthday cake.
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Yields:
12 serving(s)
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
55 mins
Total Time:
1 hr 20 mins
Cal/Serv:
425
Ingredients
250g
unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
125g
pistachio kernels
250g
caster sugar
4
medium eggs, at room temperature
100g
ground almonds
100g
quick cook/instant polenta
1/2tsp.
each vanilla and almond extract
Finely grated zest 1 orange
2tsp.
baking powder
125g
raspberries
TO DECORATE, OPTIONAL
25g
pistachio kernels, roughly chopped
Raspberries
Crème fraîche
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4. Grease and line a 23cm round springform cake tin with baking parchment.
Step 2Whizz the pistachios in a food processor until finely ground (or bash in a food bag with a rolling pin). In a large bowl, using a handheld electric whisk, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5min. Crack in the eggs one at a time, whisking well after each addition. With the motor on slow speed, mix in the ground pistachios and almonds, polenta, vanilla and almond extracts, orange zest, baking powder and a pinch of fine salt, until combined. Fold in half the raspberries.
Step 3Scatter remaining raspberries into base of prepared tin, then spoon over cake mixture and level. Bake for about 50-55min, or until risen and golden (cover with foil for final 15min if getting too dark).
Step 4Cool in the tin for 15min, then remove and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 5To serve, invert on to a serving plate or board and peel off baking parchment. Scatter over chopped pistachios and raspberries, and serve with crème fraîche, if you like.
To store:
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to days.
Per serving:
Calories: 425
Protein: 8g
Total fat: 31g
Saturates: 13g
Carbs: 29g
Total sugars: 22g
Fibre: 2g
Our fail-safe sponge cake recipes - perfect for birthdays through to dinner parties
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
