Harvest Grape & Olive Oil Cake
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This Italian grape cake is just the kind of treat I love—simple, a little rustic, and perfect with coffee in the morning or a glass of wine after dinner.
Studded with juicy red grapes and lightly scented with vanilla and citrus, it works for just about any occasion—breakfast, brunch, an afternoon snack, or even dessert with a dollop of whipped cream. Traditionally called a “harvest cake,” it was made during grape season to use up the smaller grapes that weren’t destined for pressing. On a more practical note, it’s also the perfect way to use up grapes that are slightly past their prime—think soft or tough-skinned.
This cake has the richness of a classic Italian olive oil cake without being overpowered by the olive oil flavor. A mix of butter and olive oil keeps it extra moist and gives it more depth than a typical butter cake. It keeps beautifully for days and is exactly the kind of cake you leave on the counter, only to watch disappear one sliver at a time. (If you’re a fan of my French apple cake, plum cake, or strawberry cake, you’ll love this one too.)
“Came out exactly like the picture! It was absolutely delicious and moist!”
What You’ll Need To Make Harvest Grape & Olive Oil Cake
- All-purpose flour, baking powder: These dry ingredients give the cake its foundation and structure—a light crumb and even rise.
- Milk, large eggs & sugar: The wet ingredients—milk adds moisture, eggs provide richness and structure, and sugar adds sweetness to both the batter and the top of the cake.
- Olive oil & unsalted butter: A flavorful combo—olive oil lends fruitiness and keeps the crumb tender, while butter adds richness and helps the cake brown. The olive oil you use doesn’t have to be expensive, but avoid bitter or overly strong ones. A mild, fruity olive oil works best.
- Lemon zest, orange zest & vanilla extract: The citrus zest adds a little brightness while the vanilla adds warmth and depth to the cake.
- Red grapes: The juicy, sweet stars of the cake—seedless grapes work best.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2. Combine the wet ingredients and the zest. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and ⅔ cup sugar until pale yellow. Stir in the milk, olive oil, melted butter, lemon zest, orange zest, and vanilla until well combined.
Step 3. Combine wet and dry. Add the dry mixture to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Be sure not to overmix.
Step 4. Fold in most of the fruit. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold in 1½ cups of the grapes.
Step 5. Assemble the cake. Transfer the batter to your prepared pan. Top with the remaining grapes and sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over top.
Step 6. Bake and cool. Bake in a 350°F oven until the top is golden brown and a tester comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then unfasten the side of the pan and gently remove it. Let the cake cool completely on the rack before serving—perfect for breakfast or brunch, or afternoon snack, or top it with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream for an elegant dessert.
More Italian Desserts You May Like
Harvest Grape & Olive Oil Cake
With its tender crumb, golden crust, and pops of juicy grapes, this grape cake shows how simple ingredients can bake up into something truly special.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled off
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
- ⅓ cup milk (low fat is fine)
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for greasing the pan
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest, from one lemon
- 1 teaspoon orange zest, from one orange
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups seedless red grapes, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick spray with flour, such as Pam Baking or Baker's Joy. (If you don't have a springform pan, it's fine to use a 9-inch nonstick cake pan. For extra insurance that the cake will release, spray the pan, then place a 9-inch round of parchment paper on the bottom and spray again.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs with ⅔ cup of the sugar until pale and slightly thickened, about a minute. Add the milk, olive oil, melted butter, lemon zest, orange zest and vanilla and beat until well combined. Add the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Using a rubber spatula, stir in 1½ cups of the grapes. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and smooth the top with the spatula. Scatter the remaining grapes evenly over the top of the batter. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly over top. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until the cake is lightly golden and a tester comes out clean. Cool the cake for about 15 minutes on a rack.
- Slide a butter knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Unfasten the latch on the side of the pan and gently ease the side of the pan off of the cake. Slide a wide metal spatula between the bottom of the cake and the pan, lift the cake off the base and transfer to a serving plate. (If you used a regular nonstick cake pan, simply invert the cake onto a plate and flip over.)
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it securely in aluminum foil, freezer wrap or place a freezer bag. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Calories: 211
- Fat: 9 g
- Saturated fat: 3 g
- Carbohydrates: 29 g
- Sugar: 17 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Sodium: 144 mg
- Cholesterol: 42 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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Came out exactly as pictured and tastes like a restaurant pastry.
Didn’t have the lovely red grapes on hand (and I’m avoiding going to the grocery store any more than necessary) so used green seedless grapes. Such a good recipe — Sunday dessert with a little vanilla yogurt. Yum!
Loved making this with my 2 year old daughter to use up some red grapes she didn’t want to eat. Really lovely. I think I might make it again in Summer when our plums are ready. It wasn’t as sickenly sweet as I expected, although I did reduce the sugar to be sure of that.
Hi Danielle, how much did you reduce the sugar by, out of interest?
So good thank you very much for adding this lovely recipe. It reminds me of an old french recipe for rhubarb cake which is very similar in its density but doesn’t have the citrus zest in. Thank you again, happy cooking everyone.
Hi Jen
Hope you and your family are doing good under the current world situation. I wanted to thank you for posting such lovely and reliable recipes on your website.
I was looking for a nice olive oil cake recipe (using no butter). The ones I hace tried are either too dense or too dry. Are there any recipes you could recommend?
Thanks in advance!
Regards
Vanita
So glad you like the recipes and they’re bringing you some semblance of comfort right now. 🙂
You could make this cake with all oil – I think it will still be delicious!
Thank you for your response!! Do you think I can omit the whole fruit (ie grapes) altogether and make it like a lemon olive oil cake? Or use orange zest and extract and make it like a orange olive oil cake?? I’m not a fan of grapes.
Thanks again in advance
Vanita
Sure, Vanita, I think either of those alternatives would work. 🙂
Made this cake once really liked it. Can I make this gluten free and get the same results?
So glad you liked it, Carol! I haven’t made this with gluten-free flour (and no readers have commented yet that they have), but I think it should work. A lot of gluten-free bakers have mentioned that they have good luck wf with King Arthur’s gluten-free flour.
I’m so happy with this cake! Thank you for so many great recipes!
Jenn, could you please help me with metric measure in weight?
Hi Janice, I just added them to the recipe. Hope you enjoy the cake!
I saw this recipe on a HuffPost round-up of “breakfast cakes.” I didn’t have enough grapes so I used cherries and I didn’t have any oranges for zest. The cake was tasty. The family loved it. Oh and I also used gluten free flour because we have a family member with celiac. The substitution was fine.
Worked out great! Moist, not too sweet. Made it in a foil 9 inch square pan- used coconut oil spray and flour, had absolutely no problem popping it out intact. So happy to have used a bunch of sour red grapes that I thought I would have to toss!!
Jen, have been making a very similar cake for years except that mine has wine instead of milk. On Epicurious…Beaumes-De-Veniseake with Grapes