grape cake

to honor the end of the summer and the homesick (for walla walla) feelings that this time of year brings (the smell of ripe grapes in the air, the energy of all the good wine-making folks running around and working hard, blue skies and dry wheat fields, cool nights, bright stars....) i made this grape cake.

2 eggs and 2/3 c. sugar beaten up. 4 tbsp. melted butter, 1/4 c. olive oil, 1/3 c. milk and vanilla mixed in. sifted 1 1/2 c. flour, 3/4 tsp. baking powder, pinch of salt and zest of a lemon. poured wet into dry and mixed with a spoon. folded in about 2 cups of mixed grapes. being situated in the midwest, i just scrounged up a bunch of different colored grapes. who knows the varietal: red, black and green for our purposes. cut each color into a different shape for appearances. poured the batter into a cake pan, baked about 15 minutes at 350 and then put another cup or so of grapes on top. baked until springy in the center.

i will be serving this as a sweet treat for a group this weekend. am thinking about a ginger sort of glaze for some moisture.. it is a very dense cake and could use some loosening up.

make some good juice this year, friends- here's to 2009 being a great vintage!