I was intrigued by Yotam Ottolenghi's "Vineyard Cake" recipe in Sweet from the very first time I saw it. First, it includes red grapes, an ingredient rarely seen in baked goods (and which give rise to the cake's alternate moniker, "Cleopatra Cake"). Second, the recipe calls for a somewhat obscure French fortified sweet wine. I made a mental note to keep an eye out for the required Muscat de Beaumes de Venise wine after I came up empty when I checked the online inventory of several wine stores in DC and Montgomery County Liquor & Wine.
I finally found a bottle (or rather, a half bottle) at Woodland Hills Wine Company during a trip to visit my parents in Los Angeles. But after we came back home and I prepared to make the cake, I realized that I didn't have enough wine. The recipe calls for 450 ml of wine, and half bottles (which was the only option I found) are 375 ml. I started thinking about maybe substituting another type of wine for the 75 ml I was short, but then on a lark I thought I would check Rodman's in DC, and it turns out that they actually stock two varieties (both also in half bottles) of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. So with my wine and seedless red grapes in hand, I was finally ready to make the cake.
To make the cake batter, you mix room temperature butter, extra virgin olive oil (I actually used canola oil instead because I don't like the flavor of extra virgin olive oil in cakes), lemon zest, orange zest, and vanilla bean seeds until fluffy; add eggs; and alternately add the sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and the wine. I poured the cake batter into a greased and floured angel food cake pan; scattered on halved red grapes; and baked the cake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
While the cake was in the oven, I made a sugar topping by mixing sugar and room temperature butter to form a thick paste. I pulled the cake out of the oven, quickly dabbed dots of the sugar paste on top, and scattered on more halved red seedless grapes. Then I returned the cake to the oven, turned down the temperature to 350 degrees, and baked the cake until it tested done.
I liked the way the finished cake looked. There were lots of vibrant red grapes on top and the sugar crust was sparkly. When I sliced the cake, I saw that not many grapes had migrated to the bottom of the cake; the vast majority remained at the top. The flavor of the cake is difficult for me to describe. There was citrus from the lemon and orange zest, but there was definitely also a strong flavor of wine that I did not care for. I absolutely love grapes but was surprised and dismayed to discover that the fruit in the middle of the cake apparently soaked up a lot of wine; the alcohol flavor in those grapes was overwhelming to me. On the other hand, the grapes on the top of the cake just tasted like grapes, and the divine sugar topping was my favorite part (although the topping unfortunately softened up after the first day).
Tom really liked this cake, and I received enthusiastic reviews from my other tasters. Since I don't drink alcohol at all, I don't think my lukewarm feelings about this cake and its wine flavor are typical. And because sourcing the wine for this cake required a significant expenditure of money and effort, I had particularly high expectations. There are lots of occasions when I wish I could appreciate wine, and this was definitely one of them!
Recipe: "Vineyard Cake (aka Cleopatra Cake) in Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh.
I finally found a bottle (or rather, a half bottle) at Woodland Hills Wine Company during a trip to visit my parents in Los Angeles. But after we came back home and I prepared to make the cake, I realized that I didn't have enough wine. The recipe calls for 450 ml of wine, and half bottles (which was the only option I found) are 375 ml. I started thinking about maybe substituting another type of wine for the 75 ml I was short, but then on a lark I thought I would check Rodman's in DC, and it turns out that they actually stock two varieties (both also in half bottles) of Muscat de Beaumes de Venise. So with my wine and seedless red grapes in hand, I was finally ready to make the cake.
To make the cake batter, you mix room temperature butter, extra virgin olive oil (I actually used canola oil instead because I don't like the flavor of extra virgin olive oil in cakes), lemon zest, orange zest, and vanilla bean seeds until fluffy; add eggs; and alternately add the sifted dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt) and the wine. I poured the cake batter into a greased and floured angel food cake pan; scattered on halved red grapes; and baked the cake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
I liked the way the finished cake looked. There were lots of vibrant red grapes on top and the sugar crust was sparkly. When I sliced the cake, I saw that not many grapes had migrated to the bottom of the cake; the vast majority remained at the top. The flavor of the cake is difficult for me to describe. There was citrus from the lemon and orange zest, but there was definitely also a strong flavor of wine that I did not care for. I absolutely love grapes but was surprised and dismayed to discover that the fruit in the middle of the cake apparently soaked up a lot of wine; the alcohol flavor in those grapes was overwhelming to me. On the other hand, the grapes on the top of the cake just tasted like grapes, and the divine sugar topping was my favorite part (although the topping unfortunately softened up after the first day).
Tom really liked this cake, and I received enthusiastic reviews from my other tasters. Since I don't drink alcohol at all, I don't think my lukewarm feelings about this cake and its wine flavor are typical. And because sourcing the wine for this cake required a significant expenditure of money and effort, I had particularly high expectations. There are lots of occasions when I wish I could appreciate wine, and this was definitely one of them!
Recipe: "Vineyard Cake (aka Cleopatra Cake) in Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh.
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