Harvest Grape & Olive Oil Cake
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This lovely Italian-style cake is studded with juicy red grapes and flavored with hints of vanilla and citrus.
Studded with juicy red grapes and subtly flavored with vanilla and citrus, this Italian-style cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon snack. It’s equally wonderful as a dessert with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Traditionally called a “harvest cake,” it’s made during grape harvest season to use up smaller grapes that aren’t destined for pressing. More practically, it’s a great 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 overwhelmed by the olive oil flavor. It’s perfectly balanced with a blend of butter and olive oil, making it extra moist and giving it more depth than your typical butter cake. It keeps beautifully for days and is the kind of cake you leave on the counter, only to watch disappear one sliver at a time. (Hint: If you’re a fan of my French apple cake, plum cake, or strawberry cake, you’ll love this one too.)
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Harvest Grape & Olive Oil Cake
- All-purpose flour: Forms the base of the cake, giving it structure. Always measure flour using the spoon-and-level method to ensure accuracy.
- Salt: Enhances the flavor of the cake and balances the sweetness.
- Baking powder: Helps the cake rise, making it light and fluffy.
- Eggs: Bind the ingredients together and add richness to the batter.
- Sugar: Adds sweetness to the cake—some goes in the batter, and the rest is sprinkled on top for a sweet, slightly crunchy finish.
- Milk: Provides moisture and helps the cake achieve its tender crumb.
- Olive oil: Adds a subtle richness and keeps the cake moist without overpowering the flavor.
- Unsalted butter: A blend of butter and olive oil gives the cake an extra layer of richness and flavor.
- Lemon zest & orange zest: Brightens up the flavor with a touch of citrusy zing.
- Vanilla extract: Adds warmth and depth to the overall flavor.
- Red grapes: The juicy, sweet stars of the cake—make sure they’re seedless for the best texture.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs and 2/3 cup of the sugar until pale yellow. Add the milk, olive oil, melted butter, lemon zest, orange zest and vanilla.
Beat until well combined, then add the dry ingredients.
Using a rubber spatula, stir in 1-1/2 cups of the grapes.
Transfer the batter the the prepared pan. Then top with the remaining grapes and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
Bake for about 50 minutes, until the top of the cake is golden and a tester comes out clean.
Let the cake cool on a rack for about 15 minutes, then unfasten the latch on the side of the pan and gently ease the side of the pan off of the cake. Let cool on a rack completely. Serve the cake as a breakfast, brunch or afternoon snack, or top it with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream for an elegant dessert.
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Harvest Grape & Olive Oil Cake
This lovely Italian-style cake is studded with juicy red grapes and flavored with hints of vanilla and citrus.
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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This grape cake is really good. Everything I have made from this site is really good thank you for your recipes
Loved this Harvest Grape & Olive Oil Cake! Moist, tasty, healthy, classy, and sophisticated way to eat dessert. A light delight to the end of any meal. The big purple grapes present a colorful & whimsical visual unlike anything I’ve ever seen. My “steak & potatoes” spouse surprisingly loved and ate it!!
My family, friends and I absolutely LOVE your recipes! but I don’t always have to tell you (too busy cooking, enjoying, & eating!)
Hi, I have a LOT of green seeded grapes and I wanted to try this cake using them. Any reason why green grapes (cut in half, seeds removed) would not work as well, other than being less “pretty” in the final product?
Thanks!
Hi Erin, So sorry for the late reply. Green grapes should work fine.
Hi Jen! The grapes I have are very large. As in mutant-like – LOL. Do you think cutting them in half would release too much extra liquid into the batter during baking? I rarely have to ask baking questions but, having no “baking with grapes” experience, I figured I’d take the safe route and ask. btw – made the fresh strawberry cake last night – YUM!
Hi Vicky, That’s a good question…I think the cake will probably be okay — it just won’t look as pretty. Hope you enjoy it and so glad you liked the strawberry cake!
Hi Jenn! Just circling back to let you know that the halved grapes worked perfectly. I was careful to put the cut side down of the ones on top. The only thing I did differently was to add about 2T of sour cream to the batter. Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
So glad, Vicky! Thanks for letting me know 🙂
A light and fluffy sponge cake, with a great way to use up LOTS of grapes!
I didn’t have any baking powder, so used self raising flour (same amount as of plain) and it came out really well!
Also sliced the grapes I half and put a little flour on them to stop them sinking.
Excited I can freeze it. Would definitely make again 🙂
I cut mine in half because they were big. It was fine. came out great.
My question is that it was a little dry. I baked it 5 minutes less then the time indicated. Do you think adding another egg would help? Or take it out even sooner?
thanks, Debbie
Hi Debbie, I’m sorry to hear you found it to be a bit dry. Dryness is usually caused by measuring the flour incorrectly. Did you use the spoon and level method to measure the flour? Even a few extra ounces can make a big difference. This article/video explains it nicely.
Well Jen another home run!! We went out to dinner with friends and I wanted to invite them back to our home to end the special evening with a light treat. This cake was perfect. I did not have grapes on hand so I substituted the same measurement for frozen blueberries. It was beautiful, moist and the flavors just popped like little stars. Thanks again for your treasured recipes
Really thought I’d love this cake but I was disappointed that we found it dry. I tested the cake and removed it from the oven at 45 minutes. Wish I had checked it at 40. The cake looked so lovely, it just wasn’t as moist as I would have liked.
I couldn’t wait to try this recipe. I followed the recipe except I didn’t have orange zest and used grapefruit instead. The bread turned out pretty dry. I liked it but the rest of the family did not. I think by the title they were expecting more of a cake while I figured it was supposed to be more of a tea cake. This is the only thing that I have made from Jenn’s website that was not a home run.
Hi Jen – This recipe sounds like it would be wonderful with a cup of tea! Looking forward to trying it. Do you think I could freeze the cake?
Hi Donna, I do think you could freeze it. Hope you enjoy!
Are there other fruits that could sub for grapes, Jenn? Thanks!
Hi Marlene, I think plums would also work very well. For berries or apples, I would use the other cake recipes on the site (see the links in the second paragraph above). Hope that helps!
HELLO ~
DO YOU THINK THAT I COULD SUBSTITUTE ALMOND MILK FOR THE LOW FAT MILK USED IN THIS RECIPE? I CANNOT WAIT TO TRY THIS ~ IT LOOKS DELISH!
i’m sure almond milk would work fine!
Hi Dana, Yes, I agree, almond milk would work well. Please come back and let me know how it turns out.
If you didn’t add the grapes would you reduce baking time? I’m looking for a plain, dense cake for a quick breakfast or with tea later in the day.
Thank you
yes, just keep an eye on the cake!
Hi Jane, There are a lot of grapes in this cake, so if you omit them I’m afraid the batter will not adequately fill the pan. You could try it in an 8-inch cake pan and reduce the cooking time. I’d start checking after about 30 minutes. Just keep in mind that the cake won’t be quite as moist without the grapes — they release some of their juices as they cook. Hope it works out 🙂