Concord Grape Fruit and Nut Cake
Serves: one 10" cake
 
Ingredients
for the cake (inspiration from At Home in the Whole Foods Kitchen)
  • 4 cups mixed dried fruit - figs, prunes, apricots, raisins - chopped (no need to chop raisins)
  • 4 Medjool dates or 6-8 regular dates - pitted and chopped
  • 1½ cups freshly squeezed Concord grape juice or other fruit juice - hot
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • other spices such as ground cardamom, cloves and allspice - to taste (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract (optional)
  • 1¼ cup toasted almonds - ground
  • ½ cup toasted hazelnuts - chopped
  • ½ cup toasted pecans or walnuts - chopped
  • neutral coconut oil or other vegetable oil for oiling parchment paper
for the decoration (all optional)
  • cashews
  • pumpkin seeds
  • pistachios
  • pecans
  • dried apricots
  • dried lemon slices
  • dried cantaloupe
  • dried mango
Instructions
to make the cake
  1. Preheat oven to 300° F (150° C).
  2. Place 1½ cup of mixed dried fruit and all the dates into a medium bowl. Pour hot Concord grape/fruit juice over them, cover and let soak for 15 minutes. Place the remaining 2½ cups of dried fruit into a medium saucepan and set aside.
  3. Drain the soaked fruit into a strainer, over the saucepan with the dried fruit, pouring the soaking juice into the saucepan. Bring contents of the saucepan to a boil over high heat, adjust the heat to a simmer and cook until most of the juice is absorbed, about 8-12 minutes.
  4. Transfer the cooked fruit into a food processor, add spices and vanilla extract, if using, and blend until smooth. Transfer into a large bowl, add ground almonds and mix to combine. Stir in soaked fruit, chopped hazelnuts and pecans/walnuts, mixing well.
  5. Line a 10" cake pan with well-oiled parchment paper and press the fruit-nut mixture into the pan, evening it out with a spoon. Optionally, decorate with nuts and dried fruit to your liking.
  6. Bake for 1 hour, until firm. Let cool completely before slicing. The cake stores very well refrigerated in an air-tight container for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
1. In the absence of Concord grapes, any other grapes, oranges or apples can be used to make juice for this cake.
2. If you don't have a juicer for juicing grapes, blend them in a blender and strain through a fine mesh strainer to get rid of any seeds and skins.
Recipe by Golubka Kitchen at https://golubkakitchen.com/concord-grape-fruit-and-nut-cake/