Concord Grape and Fennel Cake with Amaro Syrup
6
- Prep Time10 mins
- Total Time1 hr
- Makes1 9-in. cake
Photography by Dominique Lafond. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.
You can swap the fruits, the fats and the flour in this flexible recipe and still end up with an amazing cake every time. We dressed this one up in the style of a schiacciata con l’uva, a type of Tuscan flatbread made during harvest using wine grapes and fennel seeds.—Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky of Elena
Cake
3/4 cup (90 g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (35 g) cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch kosher salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp yogurt or sour cream
1/2 tbsp amaro, we like Amaro Euganeo
1 cup fresh or frozen Concord grapes
1 tsp organic sugar
Amaro Syrup
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 cup water
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp amaro
1 1⁄2 cups fresh or frozen Concord grapes
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9-in. cake pan and dust with sugar. Set aside.
In a small bowl, whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and olive oil vigorously until light and creamy, about 30 sec. Add yogurt and amaro and whisk to combine.
Add flour mixture to wet ingredients and stir until no dry spots remain and the batter is just combined. (Be careful not to overmix.) Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top using a spatula. Distribute grapes evenly around the surface of the cake and top with a light sprinkling of sugar.
Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 30 to 35 min. Allow cake to cool before removing it from the pan.
Syrup: Meanwhile, in a medium pot, bring sugar and water to a boil. In a small pan over medium, toast fennel seeds until fragrant, 30 sec. Add fennel seeds to the boiling sugar water and turn off the heat. Add amaro and stir to combine. Place grapes in a large heatproof bowl, pour syrup overtop and let cool slightly. The syrup will keep for 1 month in the fridge.
Cut the cake into slices and serve warm—but not hot from the oven—with a drizzle of amaro syrup and the syrupy grapes.
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Excerpted from Salad Pizza Wine by Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky. Copyright ©2023 Janice Tiefenbach, Stephanie Mercier Voyer, Ryan Gray and Marley Sniatowsky. Photography by Dominique Lafond. Published by Appetite by Random House®, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher. All rights reserved.