Grape, Almond, and Olive Oil Cake
And this is what comes out: perfect for weeknight dinners and company alike.
Red seedless grapes, lemon juice and zest, and an array of pantry staples: yogurt, eggs, almong meal, flour, sugar, and olive oil.
A full cup of yogurt ensures that this cake won't be dry in the slightest.
Olive oil swirled into yogurt: life's simple beauties.
Three eggs add sturdiness and lift to the batter. (For maximum pleasure, pop the yolks with your whisk before stirring them in.)
We zested the lemon directly into the bowl of batter -- fewer dishes!
And you gotta love a recipe that asks for both juice and zest.
With just a half-cup of sugar, this is a mildly sweet, grownup kind of cake.
Already looks good enough to eat, no?
We stopped to admire Amanda's tiny handwriting before resuming with the dry ingredients.
Almond meal, flour, baking powder, and salt: no need to delicately fold them into this study batter. A simple stir will do!
With the batter done, it's time to halve few handfuls of grapes. (We bet that our cherry tomato-halving hack would work here, too.)
Gourmetphd makes her cakes in mini tart pans, but we decided to use one large one, generusly buttered to keep from sticking.
Keep in mind that a larger cake will take slightly longer to bake -- check every ten minutes or so and you'll keep from overbaking it.
The circles of grapes here serve a double purpose: they're not only beautiful, but they also guarantee a bite of fruit with every slice of cake!
You might not use all of the grapes -- but hey, now you have a snack while the cake's in the oven.
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Author Notes: I first experimented with this recipe when my husband invited a friend for dinner at the last minute and the ingredients that screamed at me when I opened the refrigerator door were grapes and yogurt. It takes only a few minutes to make and it baked in the oven while we were eating the main course. - Gourmetphd
Food52 Review: WHO: This is Gourmetphd's first recipe on Food52!
WHAT: An easy olive oil cake enriched with almond meal and topped with grape halves.
HOW: This is a one-bowl affair, quickly thrown in the oven and even more quickly devoured.
WHY WE LOVE IT: Thin, fast-baking, and elegant, this is the perfect dessert for last-minute company. - A&M
Serves 6
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (nonfat is fine)
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 3 eggs
- 1 lemon (zest and juice)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cups ground almonds (also called almond meal)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups seedless red grapes (cut in half lengthwise)
- olive oil spray
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In a large bowl, whisk by hand the yogurt, olive oil, eggs, lemon zest and lemon juice until well blended (this could also be done in a blender or stand in mixer).
- Add the sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
- Spray individual tart molds with olive oil. Divide the batter equally between the tart molds. Press the grape halves decoratively into the batter, cut-side down.
- Bake for 15 mns or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool before eating or not. Could be served with some Greek yogurt with honey on the side.
- Your Best Grapes Contest Winner!
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about 1 month ago Annerieke Willemze
this was very nice, but is it supposed to be quite dense?
about 1 month ago Chef Tracy D
I don't bake. Ever. But it was Easter and I was feeling festive. I made this, and it came out beautiful... I topped it with a little sweetened Mascarpone and drizzled honey. It was delicious!!!!!
2 months ago NotQuiteNovice
Absolutely delicious! Was an easy one to make while cooking dinner tonight. I sprinkled a bit of powdered sugar on top to dress it up a bit. Also I made it in a 9"x13" cake pan and just had to add about 8 minutes to the total cooking time. Came out lovely.
3 months ago Kathy Cooks
This cake was so easy to make and like EmilyC I used pear on top...added a little nutmeg to give it a little kick and wow. This is my new favorite cake - it can be used for breakfast as well as tea and dessert. I finally had to give half of it to my husband to share at his work or I would have eaten the whole thing today. I used saran wrap to keep it and also full fat organic greek yogurt in the recipe, and today three days later the cake is still so moist...love it.
3 months ago adele93
to make a blueberry tart could the olive oil be substituted for butter and the grapes for blueberries??
5 months ago EmilyC
Made this cake the other night--literally mixed it up last minute while I was cooking dinner. I didn't have grapes so arranged thin slices from one large pear across the top. Delicious!
5 months ago Gourmetphd
Glad it turned out well! I have made it several times using fruit other than grapes --fresh cranberries turned out the best, in my family's opinion.
6 months ago Anmari
I have been gluten free for a while and was wondering if the recipe will work with just almond meal? Also, what size bake dish I can use for a single cake?
5 months ago EM-MV
I also think this is a good candidate for a gluten-free switch. Notice it already includes almond meal, so I'm going to keep that amount the same but use a gluten free all purpose flour. I have some Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour that I am not too fond of, because I can taste/smell the garbanzo flour in it (basically I know it is there). I think the olive oil and yogurt will hide the garbanzo...I will report back.
6 months ago PRST
I used ricotta (fresh) in place of the yogurt! Still would like recommendations of tart pan sizes.
6 months ago Gourmetphd
I have done the recipe many times using either small tart pans (4 inches) or a large tart pan with removable bottom (12 inches), which takes an additional 5 to 10 minutes to bake. Enjoy!
6 months ago minfiz
It's easy to make but I found it slightly too dry. I thought that incorporating the grapes in the batter might help because of the juices released by the grapes. What do you think?
6 months ago Gourmetphd
Not sure what is going on --mine always comes out very moist. Maybe try reducing the flour by 1/4 cup?
6 months ago minfiz
it was moist (not very) the first day but got dry the next day.
7 months ago Desuza
If I want to make one tart, what size tart a pan do I use. PRST's question is also relecant, if I use individual ones what size and how many?
7 months ago PRST
What size are your tart molds- rather important.....
7 months ago The Gator
Can I use a regular round cake pan?
7 months ago nll
Just made your recipe and loved it, loved the grapes and so simple to make. Thank you for another recipe to add to my Food52 collection.
7 months ago nll
Delicious recipe and so easy to make, loved the grapes. Made cupcake size didn't have mini tarts pans.
Another recipe to add to my Food52 collection.
7 months ago nll
Excellent recipe and so easy to make. I made cupcakes size servings, didn't have mini tarts. Thank you for a great recipe to add to my collection from Food52.
7 months ago rachelbradley
To find out why baking with refined olive oil, aka "pure olive oil, aka, "light olive oil", aka "just plain ole' olive oil" is an exercise in culinary futility, see this link:
http://www.aujardinpotager...
7 months ago PistachioDoughnut
Congrats Gourmetphd - I so wanted to test this recipe, but I cannot keep up with the deadlines. But, I am surely making this before the grape season is over.
7 months ago Gourmetphd
Thanks! Tonight I am trying a variation with fresh cranberries instead of grapes. I will report on the outcome...
7 months ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Love it! I don't care much for grapes, but am thinking the base recipe would be fabulous with other autumn fruits. Hope to try it sometime soon! ;o)
7 months ago Gourmetphd
Probably pears would be great with it.
7 months ago fearlessem
Congrats! Does this have to be made in individual tart pans? If I made it in one tart pan, how big a pan would I need?
7 months ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
I knew I should have tested this one! Congratulations for being a finalist!