Italian cake

An incredibly moist Italian Grape Cake Recipe made with olive oil and scented with orange zest, almond and a hint of thyme. It’s an Italian-style harvest cake and a simple yet perfect way of baking with grapes.

Fall is fast approaching and with it comes a whole new season of culinary delights.

In Italy, grapes are harvested between the end of August to mid October. During this period it’s quite customary to present a dish or sweet treat with the newly harvested foods.

Alas, since I’m nowhere near Italy at the moment, I look no further than my favourite farmer’s market for the best grapes I could find.

Which now begs the question, have you spotted these Thomcord grapes yet?

Thomcord grapes are a hybrid of the seedless Thompson grapes. They’re very thin skinned and with the sweetest aromatic taste ever.

If not for the fact that they are packaged and sold in clusters while still intact on their vine, one would seriously think these tiny grapes are blueberries.

And much like blueberries the thin skin clings to the grape when bitten into.

And now begs another question! Have you ever baked with grapes before?

If not then all I can say is…oh my goodness…you’re missing out my friend!

When baked these fresh grapes turn a deep purple hue in color with pools of soft jammy goodness.

With this olive oil grape cake, each bite has a burst of sweetness and is complimented with the citrus, almond scent and hint of thyme.

It stays incredibly moist for days and has a lovely contrast in texture with some crunchy sliced almonds scattered over the grape cake.

Lets bake this Italian-style cake shall we!

How to Make an Italian Grape Cake

• Start by sifting together the all purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt in a medium sized bowl. And set the flour mixture aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer or hand held mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment, beat together the eggs with the granulated sugar until thick and pale yellow in color. About 3 minutes.

• Add the olive oil, milk, vanilla and almond extracts, zest and thyme to the egg mixture. Mix until well incorporated.
• Switch to the paddle attachment and mix in the flour mixture until well combined.

• Fold in 1 cup of grapes with a rubber spatula.

• Transfer the cake batter into a greased and floured 9 inch springform pan. Or grease with your favourite baking product.
• Scatter the remaining cup of grapes evenly over the top of the cake.
• Sprinkle the top of the cake with sliced almonds

• Bake the grape cake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 40 minutes.
• When ready the cake will be deep golden brown in color and should spring back when touched with your fingertip.
• Alternately, you can check for doneness with a small wooden skewer. If a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean then it’s ready.

• Remove from the oven and place the cake on a cooling rack. Run a knife along the sides of the pan and allow the cake to cool for about 30 minutes before releasing the cake from the springform pan.
• Dust the cake with powdered sugar just before serving.
• Garnish with sugared grapes if desired. (check instructions below on how to make sugared grapes)

How to Make Sugared Grapes for Garnishing

Making sugared grapes is really quite easy but does require a little patience. Most of the time involved is inactive time.

To make the sugared grapes for garnishing, you’ll need:

• 3 small clusters of grapes on the vine or approximately 2/3 cups of plucked grapes.
• 1/3 granulated sugar plus 1/4 cup
• 1/3 water cup

First, we’ll make a simple syrup. Place 1/3 cup of sugar and equal part water in a small stock pot. Heat on medium low and stir together till the sugar has completely dissolved.

Remove from heat.

With a slotted spoon, dip the grapes in the simple sugar mixture while turning to coat all over.

Transfer to a wire rack and let the grapes dry for 1 hour.

Then, roll the grapes in the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar while taking care to cover the entire surface of the grapes.

Return to the wire rack and let dry for another hour so that the sugar adheres to the grapes.

These sugared grapes add a pretty touch and also compliments this grape studded cake. But really, you can use them to garnish any sweet treat. They would also be perfect to serve with cocktails. 

If planning ahead you’ll be happy to know that this Italian Grape Cake Recipe will stay fresh for quite a few days. And, it actually tastes better the following day! 

It’s moist. Flavourful. And not too sweet. Making it a perfect breakfast cake or a special treat for brunch!

Happy Baking!