October 17, 2010

When the fall is in the air, think Grape Cake



Reading through the hundreds of blogs I usually read every week (yes, although I don’t comment to every single post, I read many of you guys!), these days I see apples, cinnamon, and pumpkins everywhere. Everybody is very much focused on the start of the autumn. I am too somehow, even though in the Bay Area it really doesn’t seem fall these days.

However, I have a feeling that there is an overwhelming presence of some ingredients and a neglect of others. Don’t get me wrong. I love all the autumn colors and flavors that we, bloggers, are using. But when I think about September/October/fall/Autumn, something else comes out prominent in my mind: wine grapes! Maybe because I’m Italian, maybe because when I was living in Florence my best friend used to always have a grapes schiacciata ready for me, or maybe because I had a huge amount of wine grapes at home, I felt the urge to bake something with them.
I opted for this grapes cake because it‘s very simple. You need few ingredients and 5 minutes to whip it up! (you have to let it rest for some time, though) It is actually also a good way to use up those grapes that are almost gone bad.



You can pair this cake with a spoon of crème fraiche and make it a wonderful dessert or have it as a breakfast treat with a cup of coffee. In any way you choose to serve it, it’s great and won’t last long.


Grape Cake
Ingredients

125 gr (4.5 oz or 1 cup) all purpose flour
2 gr (1/2 tsp) salt
5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
85 gr (3 oz) sugar
35 gr (1.25 oz) unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs, separated
250-300 gr (8.8-10.5 oz) white wine grapes

Wash the wine grapes, dry them and split each grape in half to eliminate the seeds.

In medium bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and the sugar, and then add the melted butter (just warm, not hot!)

Stir in the flour previously mixed with the salt, and the vanilla extract and mix until well incorporated. If the mixture is too dense, add a spoon or two of milk.

Let the mixture sit for a couple of hours (or less if you are in a hurry).

Preheat the oven to 340F degree. Prepare a 9” springform pan with parchment paper and/or butter and spread the seedless grapes on the bottom.



Whip up the egg whites until you obtain a very firm cream and add it to the cake mixture. Remember, it is very important to mix slowly and with top-to-bottom movements. Also, use a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula and try not to over-mix or you will flat down the white eggs whip!

Pour the mixture onto the grapes.

Bake for 35-40 minutes. Let the cake cool on a cooling rack before attempting to unmold it. Optional: sprinkle a thin layer of confectioners’ sugar or pair it with crème fraiche.

Have a sweet day!

36 comments:

  1. wow, i've never heard of a grape cake before :( but this one looks really delicious! can i have a bite? :)

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  2. Looks amazing! I have an incredible sweet tooth craving today and this looks so tasty!!

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  3. This is really cool, you are right..grapes are totally neglected....unless you love wine like me! HA

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  4. Sara, I've never used grapes in a cake before but your beautiful pictures are making me want to try this idea. So easy--my kind of recipe.

    BTW, your lighting is excellent here! Wish I had the same in my kitchen.

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  5. That grape cake looks yummy! I come from an area where grape pies are big sellers.

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  6. Oh I love this idea! I have never heard of it before and it is so unique!!! Grapes definitely make me think of fall. :)

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  7. Oh wow! Awesome use of grapes. What a lovely creation!

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  8. Hi Sara :-) As one of my favorite bloggers, you've been tagged: http://kateiscooking.blogspot.com/2010/10/my-aunt-betty-and-uncle-howard-are-in.html

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  9. How beautiful! I'm with you on it not really feeling like fall yet... although with our gray, dreary, drizzle I'm moving a bit to the comfort food direction. I've never had anything like this, but am really intrigued to try!

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  10. How cool! I've never tried a grape cake before, but something tells me that that's going to change very soon. This would be such a nice little treat, especially when the study-munchies hit! :D

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  11. Oh, I never made a grape cake before. I am curious on how this would taste. It surely looks very very good.

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  12. sO cool this recipe!

    Greeting from Italy come to visit us!


    http://whitedarkmilkchocolate.blogspot.com/

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  13. I recently for the first time tasted grape clafoutis and was amazed by the taste. I will need to put this on my list as I'm now hunting for grape cake recipes.

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  14. I've never baked with grapes ever. That's a great idea :D Delicious cake!

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  15. I've noticed that many people do not use grapes to cook/bake that's why I wanted to share this recipe. Grapes schiacciata (a type of focaccia) is very common in Tuscany and from that I got the idea of making a cake out of it.
    @Jean: so funny you say that cause my pic just got rejected with the reason: dull! lol!
    @Kate: thanks for the tag! I have two to answer and I promise I will do that soon!
    @Orsetta: ciao! grazie per il commento! MI fa piacere conoscere un'altra blogger italiana!
    @Wheels and Lollipops: I have to try the grape clafoutis...It must be amazing!

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  16. Very cool and interesting cake and definitely unlike any other I have seen before. Beautiful!

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  17. What a fun unique idea! I have to try this one!

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  18. I think a grape cake is ideal for the fall and the cooler days. Thank you for sharing this lovely cake. :) Happy Monday!

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  19. it looks so great, i liked the idea of grape cake.. and although i dont comment all the post, i follow u too :)

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  20. What a great idea, so interesting and it truly does seem simple, Thanks for sharing!

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  21. This one is new to me! Looks awesome.

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  22. What a unique and interesting cake! Lovely!

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  23. I've never thought to put grapes in cake, but yours looks so good!

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  24. Nice, I've seen grape foccacias before, but never a cake. Looks so light too. My younger daughter has a thing for grapes, she'd love this.
    -Gina-

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  25. Oh! I've not seen a cake incorporate grapes like this before, but what a lovely idea...and why not! Thank you for sharing inspiration. :)

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  26. Oooh, that sounds great! A perfect dessert for a dinner here in the Bay Area :) I've never baked with grapes, but this makes me want to give it a try.

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  27. This is so beautiful. A well deserved Top 9. Congrats. GREG

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  28. what a pretty cake:) thank you for sharing this.

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  29. I have never made a grape cake before, but it sounds and looks delicious!

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  30. This cake is so lovely! In my list of things to do. Bake a grape cake! Thanks for sharing the recipe. Your photos are very nice too.

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  31. You are so right about many ingredients being overlooked. Pumpkin and squash have overshadowed everything else, I'm guilty of it too. I love your Grape cake, never heard of it but boy have I been missing out. Your photos are so beautiful too.

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  32. This reminds me of clafoutis - only cakier and grapier. :) Sounds wonderful!

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  33. Could you use purple grapes? I have some that are languishing in the fridge and this would be the perfect use for them.

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  34. Good for you for straying from the "traditional" fall ingredients!
    This cake looks fantastic and I love the short list of ingredients!

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  35. This cake sure was a hit in my home
    @tryityoumightlikeit: you can definitely use purple grapes. Schiacciata for example is make with those and the dough of this cake fits perfectly for purples grapes too!
    @Rachel: I also appreciated the short list of ingredients. Sometimes it bothers me to have a list of 20 ingredients! You sure have all you need for this cake at home!

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  36. Ok, so I'm a little late with this post, but it's been sitting in my box and I've been meaning to write for days. It looks amazing. I'm so glad you included a picture of it cut into so I could see the insides. I've never seen a grape cake, but always wondered why people didn't bake with them. It figures it would take an Italian to teach me! I wish we lived closer together.

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