Delicious winter dessert: Sauternes-olive oil cake with dried fruit compote

All of Saturday I was flipping through cookbooks and magazines, suffering agonies of indecision about what to make for dessert for a couple of friends who were going to come over Sunday night. The matter was finally decided by the 2 lbs of various dried fruits sitting on the kitchen counter since Christmas - I'd bought them planning to make some sort of cookies with them, then ran out of time. I also had half a bottle of very good (but rather sweet) Auslese riesling in the fridge. This would kill two birds with one stone.

The cake recipe (by Lindsey Shere, of Chez Panisse) is on the web in a million copies, for example here:
http://www.recipesource.com/desserts/cakes/22/rec2255.html, or just google "olive oil and sauternes cake"). I have to say that the 20cm/8 in. form was WAY too small for this amount of batter (so I made a second baby cake for testing purposes...), so I'll use a 9" form next time; also, I thought that 6 whites instead of the 7 would have suffices, making a slightly denser crumb which, to me, would be just fine. But it was delicious: such a delicate, not-too-sweet flavor, such a moist, light crumb!

The accompanying dried fruit compote (I used raisins, pears, and apricots) poached in dry white wine and flavored with citrus oil (the recipe calls for peels) was - sorry to pat myself on the back for this one - really the *perfect* accompaniment: jewel-like fruits coated in a citrusy, sweet glaze with a delicious boozy undertone. Recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/rec...

The whole thing tasted fantastic and looked beautiful (sorry, I was embarrassed to take pix in front of my guests; next time...) It was such a nice wintry dessert, simple to make (the compote is a breeze to whip up while the cake is baking.) And of course, you treat yourself to any remaining wine while thus engaged.

Only when I tasted the cake I realized it was actually a variation on a chiffon cake, only with wine as the main liquid and olive oil instead of a neutral cooking oil. It made me want to try using white wine in other baking recipes, since it imparts a delicious, subtle hint of yeastiness (I loooove yeast-raised doughs, but they do require time); I love wine in my Xmas cookies made only with butter, wine and flour, then rolled in sugar... there's got to be other ways to bake with wine. I'll keep you posted.

[kookiegoddess]

Dagnabbit! just seen this post AFTER putting my cake in the oven full to the brim and with a mini cake on the side. Have put them in on a baking sheet in case of spillage and fingers crossed that with everything I've read about this cake, it will still taste good even if it looks a bit sad...

Am going to serve with chilled nectarines drizzzled with a little peach liqueur, and some whipped cream. Can't wait!

It's funny you should say that about wanting to cook with more wine. I made a curried carrot/lentil dish last night that calls for water. I subbed veggie stock. But, as I was finishing it up, I began to wonder if guiness wouldn't taste really good as the water component. Made me wonder about cooking more with beer or other liquids when the recipe calls for water (or milk or whatever).

Anyway, this is a bit of a threadjack, but I've been ruminating on similar things.

...just last week I wrote to Gourmet ("You Asked For It" section) to get a recipe from a restaurant in Montreal for their fantastic "Tartan cake", made with Tartan Ale. We'll see if they come through... that cake was SO GOOD.

I'm lucky that my neighborhood wine store (Smith & Vine in Carroll Gardens, Bklyn) has an excellent selection of <$10 wines that I can cook with, and drink, with pleasure.

Sounds great. Can't wait to try it. Here in Spain people bake a lot with olive oil, with great results.

I adore butter but would like to bake with olive oil more. Do you have any recipes you can share? That would be a great new thread.

I have recipes for a really good cake using olive oil - can't remember which one it is but will look at home tonight.

Many carrot cake recipes (and other dense, fruit or veg based cakes) use various oils instead of butter for the shortening.

Recipes that call for oil instead of butter, for things like carrot cake, zucchini bread and honey cake, usually specify vegetable oil or neutral salad oil. Since I always taste these in the cake and don't like the taste I always use a light olive oil, or, if I am feeling extravagent, a nut oil. I taste those too, but at least I like the taste

Let me see what I can dig up and translate--might take a few days! I'll admit, I rarely bake Spanish goodies since they are so readily available from stores and friends and family.

But magdalenas come to mind immediately--sweet little cupcakes that go perfectly with coffee and clementines. Most places sell several varieties and the best ones are made with olive oil.

Magdalenas must be Spanish madeleines! They sound really good & right up my alley... (I love tea cakes.)
I found a few recipes online but they seem to use butter.

Please, please, if you get around to it, post a recipe... I don't speak Spanish. Thanks a million.

Yes, very similar to madeleines. Funny, none of my cookbooks have a recipe. And googling didn't turn up anything promising. I think it's one of those foods that everyone buys at the corner store or knows how to make. I did find a recipe for marijuana magdalenas, but it said "just use the same recipe you always use and substitute ground up pot for 1/3 of the flour..." I'll ask a few people tomorrow what that "recipe you always use" is...

1/3 of the flour - holy cow! I bet those 'hemp magdalenas' are real 'conversation starters', heh heh...

A recipe for the normal ones would be much, much, much appreciated. I did find one that looks OK but will wait for yours...

Link: http://gourmet.sympatico.msn.ca/sweet...