Sunday, October 7, 2012

Grape Harvest Cake







From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I have fallen head-over-heels in love with grape desserts. They are relatively new to me, but I am making a determined effort to make up for years of lost time. A few months ago,  I featured a Vintner's Grape Cake that was made with olive oil. It was so good, that it had my socks going up and down. Shortly after sharing it with you, I came across another cake on the Whole Foods website. I was drawn to their cake because it  omitted the citrus flavors found in the cake that I had already published and I was curious to see if I would like it as well.  It, obviously, was time for some comparison testing and a definitive  selection of best of class was in order. As it turns out, I was unable to do that. The first cake was a clear winner in the dessert category, but this tender harvest cake took honors in the tea and breakfast category where the intensity of the citrus was deemed to be off putting  so early in the day. We'll have to leave the final judgment up to you.  I hope you will give both these recipes a try. In the great scheme of things, they are easy to make and I suspect you'll love them both. Here is how the Grape Harvest Cake is made.

Grape Harvest Cake ...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Whole Foods Recipes

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for buttering the pan
2/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon cane sugar
2 large eggs and 1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1-3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
3/4 cup lowfat buttermilk
2-1/4 cups (3/4 pound) red seedless grapes

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9-inch metal cake pan and line bottom with a round of parchment paper. Butter paper and then coat pan with flour.
2) In bowl of an electric mixer, cream together butter and 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy, stopping to scrape down sides of bowl frequently. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in yolk, followed by olive oil.
3) Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in separate bowl.
4) On low speed, beat in flour mixture in three additions, alternating with additions of buttermilk and scraping down sides of the bowl frequently. Stir in half the grapes and pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with remaining grapes and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
5) Bake until cake is browned on top and springs back when pressed lightly with your finger, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges of pan, then invert, peel off paper and cool cake upright on a rack. Serve warm or room temperature. Yield: 12 servings.








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20 comments :

FABBY'S LIVING said...

Wow, this looks yummy! I want a piece right now with a glass of milk!! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Happy Sunday.
FABBY

Katarina said...

Mary, you make so lovely cakes and they all sound so delicious!

Whats Cookin Italian Style Cuisine said...

This is surely unique, never had something like this one.. sounds scrumpticious as I am sure it is!

SUSANNA said...

Hola guapa tu

Me encanta tu formula, con permiso me tomo buena nota

mil petonets Susanna

Kim said...

This looks amazing!!!! Hope your having a great trip Mary!!!!

Debbie said...

Ok, I'm conviced!!! I'm going to give this cake a try. It does not take much convincing for me to try a new cake recipe. I've never made a grape cake before and this looks so delicious!

What's Baking?? said...

Grapes in cakes is new to me..clever idea..I shall try this. Perfect cake as always, Mary. Have a great week ahead.

Anne said...

I love grapes but I seldom see baked goodies with fresh grapes .... It looks so pretty in that cake ! The cake looks moist and I bet it taste delicious as well !

Joanne said...

Hope you're having fun on your trip! I never do much with grapes in desserts but this cake does sound so delicious!

Suzi said...

That is one beautiful cake. I have never had grapes in cake, I love the idea. Happy Sunday to you.

Receitas para a Felicidade said...

A lovely cake Mary and looks delicious!

Laura Dembowski said...

I love grape and olive oil cakes. The flavors go together so well!

Salsa Verde said...

Hi Mary,
Fantastic cake. It looks so fluffy and yummy!
Cheers and hope you're having a fabulous day,
Lia.

Diane said...

Guess you could use this recipe for pretty much any fruit, now I wonder if I could try fig cake while I have too many to bottle.... Have a god week Diane

Dining Alone said...

I don't really think to cook much with grapes but this looks delicious. I hope you have a wonderful week!

banana wonder said...

Mmmm looks so good. Wish I had a slice ready for breakfast. Making this as soon as I move into new place.

Jenni said...

This cake looks really delicious! I love how suddenly grapes have gone from a snack or lunch item to ending up in all sorts of delicious baked treats! I'm definitely saving this recipe to try! :)

Rebecca @ Belle Blog said...

I saw a grape cake similar to this on the Food Network once, but didn't write down the recipe. This looks delicious, and I can't wait to bake it.

Rebecca♥

Claudia said...

I have been staring at various harvest cakes - love using grapes n baking. A lovely October treat.

Food Jaunts said...

I'll definitely have to give it a shot and the other one as well! I was just watching some on Cooking Channel where she made an olive oil cake with grapes and I've been meaning to give it a shot but haven't had a chance yet.

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