In Spain, there is a good luck tradition, that at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, you eat twelve grapes, one each as the church bells chime. This is actually no small feat, and I’ve managed to nearly choke on a grape or two. This year, I decided to riff slightly on the Doce Uvas de la Suerte tradition, by making this Twelve Grapes Cake so instead of wolfing down the grapes, you can enjoy a piece of cake instead. Happy New Year!
Ingredients
1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup almond flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
12 seedless grapes
2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar, for garnish
Directions
Preheat oven to 325F. Line bottom of a 8-inch cake pan with a parchment circle.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, superfine sugar, whole egg, egg yolk, lemon zest, lemon juice, and almond extract. In a large bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, almond flour, baking powder and salt. Pour to yogurt mixture into the flour mixture and fold them together until fully combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan. Slice the grapes in half and arrange them cut side up in concentric circles on top of the batter.
Bake for 55 minutes to an hour, rotating the cake pan midway through the baking time, until the cake springs back when you press it in the middle and a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. When cool. carefully invert the cake onto a flat plate and lift off the pan; peel off the parchment. Place a serving plate on top of the cake and turn it right side up so the grapes are on top.
Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust the cake evenly with the confectioners’ sugar to finish. Serve with whipped cream or sweetened mascarpone.
