Polenta Olive Oil Cake with Grapes

I love this time of the year, the summer-autumn cusp. The summer produce at its tail end, sun ripened sweetness and new signs of fall produce hitting the shops. I love grape season, when we moved to California over two decades ago we formed a few family traditions in the fall. One of them was to exploring our favorite vineyards of Napa Sonoma ladened with bunches and bunches of grapes and the other was apple picking at our local orchards.

This cake is Tuscan inspired with olive oil, Polenta, rosemary and a splash of Grappe. Rosemary is totally optional, I originally made it with rosemary but my husband didn’t like the clash of flavors so Ill leave it optional. Other than that this delicious cake is slightly crumbly from the polenta, soft and a bit gooey from the grapes that get jammy as they cook. Its perfect as a dessert or with coffee any time of the day.

Polenta Olive Oil Cake with Grapes, 10 servings

• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons grappe or any liqueur you like
• 2 cups fresh seedless red or black grapes
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary finely chopped, optional
• zest and juice of 1 lemon About ¼ cup
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup finely ground polenta
• 2 cups almond flour, I made mine at home
•  ¼ cup cake flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
2. Grease a 9-inch pan. Dust the inside with polenta, and tap out any excess. (Note: I used has a nonstick baking pan.
3. In a large bowl beat the olive oil, sugar and lemon juice and zest until it’s light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until smooth and all incorporated.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the polenta, ground almonds, a.p flour, chopped rosemary if using, baking powder, and salt, until there are no lumps.
6. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the creamed butter mixture, just until well-combined. Do not over mix. Fold 11/2 cups grapes into the batter.
7. Scrape the batter into the pan, smooth the top, Scatter the remaining grapes over the batter and bake the cake until it is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out almost clean, about 45 to 50 minutes.
8. Let cool on a rack for about 30 minutes, then run a knife along the outside of the cake to loosen it from the pan and tip the cake onto the rack. Serve.