Italian Yogurt Cake with Olive Oil and Grapes Recipe
A simple yogurt cake with olive oil and grapes is a typical Italian bake made “with what you have at home”. Soft, moist, lightly lemony, with sweet fruit sunk into the batter – perfect with afternoon coffee or as a dessert after a light lunch.
This yogurt cake with olive oil and grapes is a very homely Italian bake in which olive oil replaces butter, giving a moist, soft crumb and a delicate aroma. The grapes bake into little pockets of juice inside, and the lemon note keeps the cake from being overly sweet. It’s a classic “dolce da forno” you can make from basic pantry ingredients without any complicated techniques.
Chef's tips
Use a mild olive oil, not a very intense one, so it doesn’t overpower the flavor of the cake – if you only have a robust oil, mix it half-and-half with a neutral vegetable oil. Dry the grapes well after washing and lightly toss them in flour before adding to the batter so they don’t all sink to the bottom. Watch the baking time: the cake should spring back when pressed lightly, and the skewer should come out with a few moist crumbs, not completely dry like a sponge cake.
How to serve
Serve the cake at room temperature, preferably on the same day, with a cup of cappuccino or tea with lemon. It’s perfect as a dessert after a light vegetable lunch or as something sweet for a Saturday afternoon coffee get-together. You can dust it lightly with icing sugar just before serving or add a spoonful of thick plain yogurt instead of whipped cream.
Ingredients
- yogurt (about 3/4 cup, at room temperature) - 180 g
- flour (type 450–550) - 250 g
- sugar (about 3/4 cup) - 150 g
- mild olive oil (about 1/3 cup) - 80 ml
- eggs (at room temperature) - 3 pieces
- baking powder - 2 teaspoons
- salt - 0.25 teaspoons
- unwaxed lemon (grated zest and 1 tablespoon juice) - 1 piece
- seedless grapes (halved) - 200 g
- sugar (for sprinkling after baking, optional) - 1 tablespoon
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (top and bottom heat). Lightly grease a 22–24 cm cake tin with olive oil and line the bottom with baking paper.
- Wash the grapes, pat them dry and cut them in half.
- In a bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt.
- In a second, larger bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar using a mixer for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture becomes paler and slightly fluffy.
- Add the yogurt, olive oil, grated lemon zest and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Briefly mix or whisk just until combined.
- Add the flour mixture with baking powder and salt to the wet ingredients. Gently fold with a spatula or spoon just until combined – do not overmix, so the cake doesn’t turn out dense.
- Fold half of the grapes into the batter and gently mix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared tin and smooth the top. Arrange the remaining grapes on top, cut side up, gently pressing them into the batter.
- Place the tin in the oven and bake for 35–40 minutes, until the cake rises and is golden. Check with a skewer inserted into the center – it should come out dry or with a few crumbs, but without raw batter.
- Remove the baked cake from the oven and leave it in the tin for 10 minutes. Then take it out of the tin and cool completely on a wire rack.
- Before serving, you can dust the top with icing sugar.
Storage
Store leftover cake wrapped or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for up to 4 days. If refrigerated, let it come to room temperature before serving so the texture softens.
