Grape & Olive Oil Cake

We’ve started to pick our own harvest of tasty little grapes from the greenhouse. They are small and sweet, tasting quite like blueberries which is why I felt they’d work well in this easy to make zesty cake.

The olive oil keeps it moist - store it in an airtight container and it will last 3 days (unless you’re like our family and demolish everything in one sitting!!)

I’ve used a combination of self-raising and rice flour here as I find it keeps the sponge light in colour and texture. If you don’t have rice flour you can just use all self-raising instead.

I also add half the fruit to the cake first, then after 15 minutes in the oven add the remainder to the top of the cake. Thie ensures you have fruit throughout the cake and on the top when it’s finished.

Fruity Olive Oil Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 large free range eggs
• 190g caster sugar
• 100ml light colour olive oil (not extra virgin)
• 120ml whole milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• grated zest of one lemon
• 90g rice flour
• 200g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking ppwder
• pinch salt
• 280g small red grapes (or blackberries / blueberries)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (reg) or 170C fan, then line the base of a 24cm springform tin with baking parchment. Grease the sides with olive oil.
2. Whisk the eggs and caster sugar together for 2-4 minutes until they are pale and creamy looking. Using a jug, gently pour the olive oil into the egg mix, whisking all the time to combine.
3. Sift in the flours and baking powder into the mix then add in the milk, zest and vanilla. Mix all the ingredients together briefly until just combined.
4. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking tin then dot HALF the grapes (or other fruit) over the top. Bake for 15 minutes then carefully remove the tin and scatter the remaining fruit over the top. Bake for another 25-30 mintes until golden and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
5. Cool in the tin for approx 15 minutes before carefully removing to a wire rack or serving plate before allowing to cool completely. Serve with Greek yoghurt or cream.