Grape Cake

I found a recipe for Napa Valley Grape cake that was tempting me to no end. How exotic it sounded! A cake with luscious grapes and sweet wine. I finally concocted an excuse to make this cake - a very silly excuse! My friend asked me what cake I would (hypothetically) bake to tempt/lure a celebrity I would love to meet. J.K Rowling could be lured by a Lemon Cake, so why not adopt a similar strategy for other celebrities? ;)

I slightly adapted the recipe to bring in some orange flavor that I hoped would go well with the grapes. The cake didn't rise much because I added less baking soda, and a little extra baking powder (I didn't want the grapes to sink way down to the bottom; but they did sink nonetheless).

In all, this was an interesting cake! If you like the flavors of grape/wine, this will be to your liking. Mildly sweet, and different from most cake flavors.

Jam Crumb Cake

The last crumb cake I tried was quite successful and people seemed to like the contrasting textures of soft and crunchy. So, I have been trying out different flavors - one of which is this jam based cake. 

I love the flavor of mixed fruit jams - they have a unique flavor that's a medley of all the best fruits - like berries, bananas, and a hint of orange. Having wondered how a cake would taste if it took on the flavor, I finally tried it out. I really liked the cake, but I realized that not everyone is a fan of mixed fruit jam flavor. So, substitute with any jam of your liking!