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Fall

Grape, Almond, and Olive Oil Cake

by:
October  6, 2012
4.8
4 Ratings
Photo by James Ransom
  • Serves 6
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

Test Kitchen Notes

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. —The Editors

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Ingredients
  • 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 cups all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup 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
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. 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).
  3. Add the sugar, flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt. Mix well.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
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44 Reviews

Write a Review
Roubi E. September 29, 2021
I love this cake. I use 1/4 cup of monk fruit sweetener and 1/4 cup of sugar to make it a bit healtheir. As others have mentioned, it needs more time in the oven. I slice and freeze and eat it for breakfast. In my house it's known as breakfast cake.
Toonces W. September 23, 2018
I used figs and hazelnut meal and served it warm with maple creme. Had to double oven time. The texture was incredible!
jenny February 3, 2016
I liked the unusual look of this so gave it a go. More of a pudding than a cake definitely... Sorry but I thought it was a bit bland... (And needed much longer in the oven!)
Zsuzsa October 17, 2015
Fabulous cake! So easy to put together. I added 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom and baked the cake in a 9 inch cake pan with removable sides for 50 minutes. It turned out great. I love it how it is not too sweet, and the texture from the almond meal complements the olive oil perfectly. Definitely will make it again! Thanks for the recipe.
Gourmetphd October 21, 2015
Glad you enjoyed it! I also make it with fresh cranberries during the fall season.
Cristina T. June 17, 2015
I always make a recipe quite similar to this one and would recommend NOT to cut the grapes. Instead use whole grapes, stick them right in the batter pan before baking. best results with VERY RIPE grapes (let them almost become raisins in some open recipient in the fridge, or buy them loose from the bunch. The grapes will "melt" inside the cake while it bakes, and grapes will become some sort of jam-filling.
Lori P. December 13, 2014
I have a recipe very similar to this from a french chef . I love hers , but will try this one and compare :)
dots November 30, 2013
Sorry, I did not like this at all. It's not a cake -- more a dense, almost squidgy pudding-y concoction. Unless I did something completely wrong. (Also, it needed a lot longer in the oven that you said.) That said, it did look good however, which made the strange texture all the more disappointing.
CulinaryColorado October 25, 2013
I modified this recipe slightly. I live at 5,400 feet, so perhaps some adjustment would have been called for. My tweaking: http://culinary-colorado.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=13228&action=edit&message=1
JPyyyy September 10, 2013
I plan to use this as a versatile, relatively healthful base cake recipe because...
a. The dairy is nonfat+rich at the same time.
b. Uses unrefined oil instead of butter which is a baking habit I need to develop.
c. The ground almonds give it healthful cred to a certain degree.
d. I can enhance it's nutritiousness with some whole grain flour I feel like it.
f. It can easily be mixed and matched with seasonal ingredients.
Annerieke W. April 1, 2013
this was very nice, but is it supposed to be quite dense?
Chef T. April 1, 2013
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!!!!!
NotQuiteNovice March 17, 2013
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.
Kathy C. March 8, 2013
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.
adele93 February 25, 2013
to make a blueberry tart could the olive oil be substituted for butter and the grapes for blueberries??
EmilyC December 30, 2012
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!
Gourmetphd January 2, 2013
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.
Anmari December 6, 2012
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?
EM-MV December 23, 2012
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.
shoestringmama September 10, 2013
EM-MV - Did you have an opportunity to try it with Bob's Red Mill yet? If so - what's your opinion? Did you make any change in cooking time? I'm of the same feeling of not liking that flour mix and couldn't put my finger (or taste buds) on why - probably is the garbanzo flour.
PRST November 13, 2012
I used ricotta (fresh) in place of the yogurt! Still would like recommendations of tart pan sizes.
Gourmetphd November 13, 2012
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!
minfiz November 12, 2012
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?
Gourmetphd November 13, 2012
Not sure what is going on --mine always comes out very moist. Maybe try reducing the flour by 1/4 cup?
minfiz November 14, 2012
it was moist (not very) the first day but got dry the next day.
Desuza November 8, 2012
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?
PRST November 6, 2012
What size are your tart molds- rather important.....