Gluten free polenta cupcakes with healthier yogurt frosting
These cupcakes were such a winner in my household! I was so looking forward to sharing this recipe today especially as they contain two of my favourite ingredients: corn meal (polenta flour) and almonds.
You know how much I love polenta, I grew up with it even having it for breakfast as a child, just like cereals added to milk. With the addition of a good tablespoon of honey this was the perfect healthy and nutritious start to the day.
These cupcakes are suitable for celiacs too as they contain no wheat flour. I have replaced butter for olive oil and I have swapped the traditional frosting for a healthier version using greek yogurt and yes, it was good even without any butter!
- Prep Time : 20 minutes
- Cook Time : 20 minutes
- Yield : 15
Ingredients
- cornmeal - 100 g - 2/3 cup
- ground almonds - 150 g - 1 1/2 cups
- sugar - 100 g - 1/2 cup
- olive oil - 4 tbsp
- eggs - 2
- vanilla essence - 1 tsp
- gluten free baking powder - 2 tsp
- jam
- yogurt - 2 tbsp
- powdered (icing) sugar - to sprinkle
- raspberries - a few
- For the yogurt icing:
- powdered (icing) sugar - 70 g - 1/2 cup
- greek yogurt - 245 g - 1 cup
- vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Instructions
In a bowl mix the eggs, the oil and the sugar.
Add the ground almonds, the cornmeal, 1 tsp of vanilla essence, the baking powder and 2 tbsp of yogurt
Give it a good stir
The mixture needs to be runny but not too liquid. Add a little more yogurt if it feels too dry.
Put the mixture in cupcake cases
Cook them in a pre-heated oven at 180C or 350F for 18-20 minutes until the top of your cupcakes look golden brown.
When they are cooked you can decorate them as you like. I have made some just with jam and some with jam, raspberries and yogurt frosting.
Let your cupcakes cool down then make a hole in the middle using a knife or a cupcake corer.
Make the frosting by beating the yogurt with the powdered sugar. Add 1 tsp of vanilla essence and mix well. Place in the fridge to set for 30 minutes.
I have used the OXO icing knife to help me spread the frosting. It is very light, easy to handle and does make spreading icing and frosting easier.
Put some jam in each cupcake's hole, spread the frosting and finish off with a raspberry in each hole. Sprinkle with powdered sugar for a "snowy" effect.
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Dear Alida,
Polenta and almonds are amazing. I don’t blame you for them being your favorites. These cupcakes are so pretty and they look so tasty. Love the way you added the top to them with the sugar and the berries. What a marvelous cupcake for dessert or just a snack with a cup of tea. I have to try these…Thank you dear friend..for sharing…I hope that you have a lovely week..
Dottie 🙂
Che delizia queste tortine, mi piace molto l’idea di usare la farina d mais, brava!Interessante l’attrezzino per bucare le tortine, sono perfette! Un abbraccio!
Those cupcakes look so beautiful, Alida. Could I have one with raspberry?
Che carine! Also, I love the alternative to the usual buttercream which I find way too sweet and makes me avoid cupcakes. Your filling appeals to me much more; some jam, a lighter icing and topped with fruit – perfection! Grazie!
Prego cara! I am not much of a fan of buttercream either. I remove it before eating cupcakes and muffins.. far too sweet!
Oh that’s easy. I ate them as soon as was scooping them out! 🙂
I haven’t baked with polenta for AGES! Love the idea of the combination of polenta and almonds though. Thanks so much for joining in with #Bakeoftheweek x
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Ooohhh I love filled cupcakes. And I love polenta cake too. These look lovely Alida. Please send some over!!!!
Alida!! These little guys are so cute! I am sending this recipe to my sis ASAP – – her hubby cannot eat gluten….l
Oh so many people are gluten intolerant these days. I will be making more gluten free recipes.
I love a raspberry and white chocolate cake. mmm
Hi. I’m a new reader of your wonderful blog, so I am currently reading your previous posts. How many cupcakes does this recipe yield? Thanks 🙂
Hi Zoe,
You can make 15 cupcakes with this recipe.
Happy baking!
16 – but it does depend on your cupcake size.
Hi. I was just wondering what sort of olive oil you would recommend for these cupcakes?
Always good extra virgin olive oil.
yes, but not a strongly flavor one – there are light extra virgin oils as well as much stronger ones, which I only use for cooking food or salads. I actually prefer to use butter in this recipe.
Brilliant…nice, so easy and perfect for my coffee. 🙂
I made this recipe and it turned out to be enough for 16 cupcakes! There is an important difference between polenta and mais flour – whatever its name. The latter is a real flour, but polenta has a much more grainy structure. I substituted some mais flour for the almond flour, which seemed ok.
I also substituted cream for the yoghurt, which was ok in the dough, but the glazing turned out too liquid. The only other ‘sin’ I committed was injecting the cupcakes before baking with some homemade marmalade, and that turned out really well – maybe preferable over cutting them after baking.