Grape Ricotta Loaf - By Exploding Bakery

This is the second recipe shared with us by Exploding Bakery from their new cookbook, “Bake it Easy”. See also their stunning Rhubarb & Cream Cake here.

We use our organic maize grits for the polenta Gluten-Free Organic Maize Grits (806)

“The peppery notes of a good olive oil really shine through in this cake. It has an almost frangipane-like texture, which cradles the fruit on top of the cake. It’s a versatile recipe, so using red grapes will add a sweetness and colourful contrast, while sharp white grapes bring zingy acidity. If you don’t have polenta, you can simply use a plain (all-purpose) flour alternative in its place.

TO MAKE THE TOPPING

Juice of 1 zested lemon (see below)

200g (7oz) seedless grapes (white, black or mixed is fine)

3 tablespoons caster (superfine) sugar

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

TO MAKE THE CAKE

150g (5½oz) caster (superfine) sugar

150g (5½oz) ricotta

3 eggs100ml (3½fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

zest of 1 lemon

100g (3½oz) ground almonds

75g (2½oz) polenta

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Icing (confectioners’) sugar, for dusting (optional) 

Preheat the oven to 170°C fan/340°F/Gas 5 and line your 2lb (900g) loaf tin. 

To make the topping, squeeze the juice of the zested lemon into a medium-sized bowl, reserving the zest for the cake. Slice your grapes into random sizes and shapes and place half in the bowl, along with the sugar. Roughly crush your fennel seeds in a pestle and mortar, or chop with a knife, then add these to the bowl too. 

To make the cake batter, whisk the sugar and ricotta together in a large bowl until smooth, then add the eggs and oil and combine. An electric whisk makes this job much easier if you have one. Next, add the lemon zest, ground almonds and polenta. Sift in the baking powder and salt and mix until smooth. Finally, gently fold in the remaining grapes, then decant the mix into your loaf tin. 

Scatter the now macerated grapes and any remaining lemon juice over the top. Bake in the oven for 50–55 minutes until the cake has risen, the grapes are looking jammy and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool before taking out of the tin and giving it a dusting of icing sugar, if you want some contrast.” 

For more information, visit explodingbakery.com or follow them on social media:@explodingbakery. 

You can find their cookbook available to purchase in Waterstones and lots of independent book shops or direct from the Exploding Bakery website - https://explodingbakery.com/products/bake-it-easy-one-pan-recipe-book 

Photography by Sam Harris, https://www.instagram.com/samaharris/