Make this Easy Cake with Grenache Blanc Wine from Scratch

Last year, I celebrated International Grenache Day (September 15) by sharing a delicious cake created by Sue Tipton, owner and vintner of Acquiesce Winery, for which she doctors a box cake mix to make her Acquiesce Grenache Blanc Cake.

Well, you know me — I love cooking too much to use mixes. With a few extra minutes, I can make a cake from scratch with the best ingredients and avoid preservatives and ingredients with names I can’t pronounce. I know I have been called a snob, and many believe to their core that their box mix is better than my scratch. Continue reading here for the original Cocoa & Lavender article.

Grenache Blanc Cake

David Scott Allen I Cocoa & Lavender

This is a delicious cake, a dessert for any gathering you host or attend. It is a recipe that is tasty and easy to make.

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Cooling Time: 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Dessert

Cuisine French

Servings 6 People

Equipment

• 2 cake pan non-stick 9-inch round
• 1 whisk 12-inch stainless steel
• 1 stand mixer (3.5 quart)
• 1 saucepan with lid (3-quart)

Ingredients

  

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• 2 1/4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 cups Sugar
• 1 tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 large pinch Salt
• 1 3/4 cup Acquiesce Grenache Blanc one cup is for the glaze
• 3/4 cup Sweet Olive Oil *see notes
• 1/2 cup cream
• Finely Grated Zest of 1 Lemon
• 3 large eggs
• 1 Stick of Butter
• 1 lb Confectioners Sugar sifted

Instructions

 

Instructions

• Butter and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with a round of parchment. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Whisk the dry cake ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Whisk together 3/4 cup Grenache Blanc, the olive oil, cream, eggs, and lemon zest in a medium bowl. When well blended, add to the dry ingredients and, using the paddle attachment, mix until the batter just comes together and all dry ingredients are moistened. Then, beat for an additional 30 seconds at medium-high speed.
• Evenly divide the batter between the two cake pans and bake for 22-25 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes.
• While layers are cooling, make the glaze by mixing the remaining 1 cup Grenache Blanc with the butter and confectioners sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a simmer and cook until thickened slightly — about 2 minutes. You will have about 2 1/2 cups of glaze.
• Using a skewer, poke holes all over the cakes and then slowly drizzle the glaze over the tops of the warm cakes, dividing it evenly between the two pans. Don’t try to drizzle it all at once; take your time. The cakes will eventually soak up all the delicious glaze.
• Turn the cakes out of the pans onto serving platters or slice them directly from the pans. You can also freeze one of the cakes for future use!

Notes

Note: As an option this cake can be baked using a 9-inch x 13-inch rectangular cake pan. If so, prepare the pan with butter, flour, and parchment as per the directions above, then bake for 30-35 minutes.

*Sweet Olive Oil is a late-harvest oil that is a result of pressing ripe olives.

Keyword Cakes, Dessert, French Desserts, White Wine

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Producing only Rhône-style white and rosé wines, Acquiesce Winery is a maverick in Lodi, California. The appellation is known for its concentration of Zinfandel red wines. The San Francisco Chronicle included the Acquiesce Winery tasting room among its list of 52 vineyards to visit in 2020.

The vineyard was a retirement dream, something to do after Susan and Rodney Tipton left their corporate careers. At the time, acquiesce was only a verb: to surrender, to become quiet. The word became a vision of a time when they were no longer moving between different states (five of them), living in Sweden, and raising three boys. The idea became a reality in 2003 with the purchase of an 18-acre property in Lodi, California. Continue reading about Acquiesce Winery and the Lodi wine region in California.

David Scott Allen

David Scott Allen is the author, photographer, and cook behind Cocoa & Lavender, a weekly food blog based in Tucson, Arizona. Passionate about travel, he especially enjoys eating traditional foods and learning local customs, whether in the United States or around the globe.

David's first trip to France took place when he was 14, and he returned as often as possible thereafter. However, it wasn't until his 50th birthday that he finally made it south to Provence. The beauty, history, charm, warmth, cuisine, and - of course - the rosé wines captured his heart. He shares his Provençal recipes here on Perfectly Provence, and his food and wine pairings monthly on the Provence WineZine.

David is a firm believer that sharing a meal with friends around the table is one of life's greatest pleasures. And if it happens to be in Provence, all the better!