Birthday, anniversary or saint’s day. It doesn’t matter which celebration it is. It should always be accompanied by a cake. Always. From Barcolobo we will share with you not one, but two grape tart recipes that will delight all your guests, whatever the occasion. In fact, by having two options you can combine them interchangeably.
Grape cake – shortcrust pastry
First of all, we will go for a shortcrust pastry cake, i.e. with a crispy base that resembles a shortbread biscuit. For this, we need flour, cold butter, egg, icing sugar and cold water. Mix it all together, add a little more water, and leave it to cool in its cake tin in the fridge.
With the base already assembled, the only thing left to do is to add flavour. In this case, we will add the grapes, which will be integrated into a nut praline. To make this ingredient, you will need 100g of white sugar and the nut of your choice: walnuts (100g). The sugar will be used to make the caramel – over medium heat in a frying pan until it starts to melt. Then, lower the heat to medium-low and add more sugar, stirring the pan so that everything is uniform.
When everything is melted (you can add more sugar according to taste), check the heat and add the walnuts. Now, using a spoon or spatula, mix everything together quickly and pour into a mould or tray. When it cools, it is time to break up the structure with a robot or a grinder, until a paste is obtained. And that’s it! If it is too dry, you can always add a teaspoon of oil.
Grape cake – sponge
The second option is quite different; it goes more for the original cake, which for everyone is the sponge cake. For this, we only need wheat flour (300g), white or black grapes (150g), sugar (250g), 4 eggs, oil (125ml), chemical yeast (12g), 3 spoons of icing sugar and then, optionally, vanilla essence (2 spoons).
First beat the eggs with the sugar and oil. Once the mixture is whipped, add the sifted flour and the yeast – little by little, to avoid lumps. If you want to add the vanilla essence, now is the time to do so. Once the dough is ready, add the grapes (preferably chopped and seedless). Optionally, chopped walnuts can also be added. A nod also to our first cake.
Now all that remains is to pour the mixture into the greased baking tin and bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes (at 180C). Then just decorate with icing sugar and a few grapes on top and that’s it.
What is your favourite version? We read you in comments. If you make the recipe, don’t forget to tag us on our social media: @barcolobo Enjoy!
PCTURE: @cocinafresca