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Almond Grape Cakes (Cakelets)


Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets)

Seedless, sweet grapes with a buttery mixture of almonds make up this memorable, seasonal cake – Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets).

Here we are on the last day of October already. I’ve managed to hold off making anything with pumpkin. Being a reader of cookbooks, food magazines, and food blogs you can start going into traditional seasonal flavor overload months before its time. That’s why this recipe screamed out that it must be made! Grapes sometimes get overlooked, but are in season too. This buttery cake with almonds, orange zest, and plump, beautiful and sweet juicy grapes is reminiscent of Italian desserts I’m so in love with.

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets)

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets)

I’ve modified this keeper-of-a-recipe from a Sunset Magazine issue, using ramekins instead of a cupcake pan. I like the straight sides, shape and size of ramekins versus the traditional muffin/cupcake pan use, especially for these delicate cakes that should not be confused with being either a cupcake -or- muffin!

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets) - white ramekins

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets) – white ramekins

As the images demonstrate, I baked these cakelets in two different ramekin sizes, 4-ounce and ultra-mini 2-ounce sizes. Both sizes turned out to be perfectly sized depending on how you’re planning to serve them.

A more generous use of sliced almonds and raw sugar on the top lent not only a beautiful aesthetic to each cake, but added a slight crunch and textured top crust.

The recipe calls for zest from one orange. Don’t omit the zest and use a large orange! The orange zest adds such incredible flavor and is so aromatic in these cakes with its buttery crumb.

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets)

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets)

I baked these up two days in a row, the first batch we sampled into before I could capture them behind the lens which led to a second batch the very next day. The plan was to freeze the cakelets of the second batch to test how well they held up so I could bake these ahead of time for the holidays and have a nice treat to pull out and use for quick, last minute treats.

Be sure to serve these with classic dessert beverage fare, a tall glass of cold milk, your favorite coffee brew or a soothing cup of hot tea!

Enjoy and Happy and Safe Halloween festivities to you and your families!

More recipes using grapes on TC

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets)

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Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets)
Makes 5, 4-ounce ramekins -or- about 8-9 muffin sized cakes
Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  •  
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • Zest from 1 orange
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  •  
  • 10-15 black seedless grapes
  •  
  • sliced almonds
  • raw sugar (optional)
Method
  1. Preheat oven to 375°. Generously butter and dust flour -or- use non-stick spray on either 5, 4-ounce ramekins -OR- muffin cups for about nine.
  2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat butter and sugar until thoroughly combined, light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat until incorporated – scrape down inside of bowl. Add almond flour, all-purpose flour, orange zest, vanilla extract, and fine sea salt, beating on low speed to combine.
  3. Evenly distribute batter among prepared baking dishes. Push one full grape into the batter of each dish. Slice the rest of the grapes in half, lengthwise and set at least 2-4 halves on top of the batter in each dish (you don’t need to push it into the batter if you want them to peak through after they’ve baked). Sprinkle with sliced almonds and raw sugar.
  4. If using ramekins, place on a baking sheet and bake until golden, about 22-25 minutes – rotating baking sheet/muffin pan halfway through baking time.
  5. Allow cakelets to cool on baking sheet for about 5 minutes and then carefully transfer each cakelet to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before removing from their individual dishes. © Images & content: Cristina A-Moore for TeenieCakes.com.
Teenie Notes
  • I’ve tested in two different sized ramekins:
    • 4-ounce (or 1/2 cup) ramekin: Bake for about 23-24 minutes.
    • 2-ounce (or 1/4 cup) ramekin: Bake for about 20 minutes.
  • Let the small cakes completely cool before attempting to remove from their baking dish, unless you opted to using baking papers.
  • Your baking time may vary slightly and its preference on how golden you want your cakes to be, but be sure to test with a wooden skewer or toothpick off the center (away from the placed grapes) for a clean indicator.
  • The raw sugar on top before baking is optional, but it really lends to a beautiful texture and a slight crunch crust.
  • Makes for a lovely dessert, tea time treat or breakfast pastry.
source adapted from Sunset Magazine


Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets) - white ramekins

Almond, Grape Cakes (Cakelets) – white ramekins

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Christina @ Christina's Cucina says

    These are just darling, Cristina! I really love how you made them in ramekins (I have millions of ramekins)! They look wonderful and sound not too sweet, which is perfect for me! Great recipe, but then again most Sunset recipes are! 🙂

  16. RKM says

    These look so delicious! I love the small sizes and the orange zest with grapes. Must be heaven with a cup of coffee in the morning. Beautiful photos.

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