Marie Claire Australia — December 2017

206 marieclaire.com.au

VINEYARD CAKE (AKA CLEOPATRA CAKE)

SERVES 12

TIP

Don’t be tempted to

try this in anything but

an angel food cake or

chiffon tin. The cake is so

large, it needs the hole in

the middle to ensure

it bakes evenly.

500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

2 tsp baking powder

1

2 tsp bicarb soda

3

4 tsp salt

340g caster sugar

175g unsalted butter, room temperature,

plus extra for greasing

75ml extra virgin olive oil

zest of 2 lemons (2 tsp), finely grated

zest of 1 orange (2 tsp), finely grated

scraped seeds of^12 vanilla bean

4 large eggs

450ml sweet white wine such as moscato

100g seedless red grapes, halved lengthways

TOPPING

70g unsalted butter, room temperature

70g caster sugar

100g seedless red grapes, halved lengthways

1. Preheat oven to 210°C. Grease and
   lightly flour a 25cm-round, 10cm-deep
   angel food cake or chiffon tin, tapping
   away excess flour. 2. Sift flour, baking
   powder, bicarb soda and salt into a
   bowl and set aside. 3. Place sugar in
   the bowl of an electric food mixer, with
   the paddle attachment in place. Add
   butter, olive oil, lemon zest, orange zest
   and vanilla seeds and mix for 2
   minutes on a medium-high speed until
   smooth and fluffy. Add eggs one at a
   time, beating well after each addition.
   Reduce speed to low and add a third of
   the flour mix, followed by half the
   wine. Repeat with another third of
   flour and remaining wine, finishing
   with final third of flour and continuing
   to mix on low speed. Once combined,

pour into cake tin and scatter grapes

evenly on top. Place in oven and bake

for 20 minutes. 4. Make the sugar

crust topping while the cake is in the

oven. Place butter and sugar in a small

bowl and beat with a wooden spoon to

form a thick paste. When the cake has

been in the oven for 20 minutes,

quickly but gently remove it and dot

the sugar crust evenly over top. Return

it to oven. Immediately lower oven

temperature to 180°C and continue to

bake for another 35–40 minutes, or

until a skewer inserted into the centre

of the cake comes out clean. Remove

from oven and allow to cool for 30

minutes before removing from tin.

The cake can be served straight away

or stored in an airtight container.

LIFESTYLE