grapefruit yogurt cake
We’ve torn into so many grapefruits this month, our fingertips have a near-permanent zest scent, I keep finding tiny juice capsules throughout the apartment and more pertinently, I have become fixated on finding a way to bring their bitter, sour-sweet flavor to a baked good. Unfortunately, my husband was convinced it wouldn’t work, and that it would be “weird.” Fortunately, I never listen to him.
In her latest cookbook, Ina Garten takes what I consider her best recipe yet — her lemon pound cake — and tries to lighten it up. As I’ve already expressed my disdain for Food Networkian notions of “light food,” I’ll skip the there’s-no-hope eye roll and simply state that in comparing the new and the old recipes, the butter is replaced with an equal amount oil, one-third of a cup of buttermilk is replaced with one cup of whole milk yogurt, and an extra egg is added and in the “lighter version.” That said, just because it may not exactly mesh with whatever your notion of diet food is doesn’t mean that yogurt does not a wonderful cake crumb make.
I figured if she can make a lemon as well as an orange version of the pound cake, with and without chocolate chunks, each more fabulous than the last, that this recipe as well as technique — zest in the cake, basting with juices and draping with a citrus icing — would work for grapefruit as well. (Lime and blood orange, you’re next.) The trick was trying to figure out how to adjust the replacement to really make the grapefruit flavor come forward, as it is more sweet and mild than lemon, less than orange and the zest has less… zing, couldn’t resist. (Secretly, I also hoped for a ‘ruby red’ tinge, but alas, not much luck with that one.)
I threw in an extra teaspoon of zest and dialed the sugar back in the glaze almost entirely and from our nibbles last night and another this morning, I think it did the trick. Having divided the batter into two miniature loaves, one for us and one for friends, I skipped the glaze due to nothing but laziness, though in truth it doesn’t need it for anything but show. The grapefruit shows up enough to announce it’s presence but not too brashly and the yogurt makes for a lighter, springier and more coffee-cake like crumb, and best yet, Alex has admitted he was misguided in his lack of faith. Like, duh.
Grapefruit Yogurt Cake
Adapated from Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
3 extra-large eggs
3 teaspoons grated grapefruit zest (approximately one large grapefruit)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 1/2 by 4 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper. Grease and flour the pan.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into 1 bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, grapefruit zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil into the batter, making sure it’s all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 50 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup lemon juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the grapefruit-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.
For the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and grapefruit juice and pour over the cake.
I’ve heard good things about something called Hollywood Grapefruit Cake, but I’ve never made it or eaten it. I know there are a lot of recipes for it if you can stand to peel any more of these fruits. ;o)
The color thing is always an issue with grapefruit. I made some grapefruit jelly with a friend and we ultimately resorted to adding a few drops of red food coloring because her kids kept telling us it looked like snot and wouldn’t eat it. The dye brought it to an appropriate pink that everyone much preferred.
Yum!
Nigella does her “Mother-in-law’s Madeira cake, with yummy lemon and it’s decidedly not light! I’ve wondered how one could tamper with variations upon it.
I myself am crazy about pomelos right now, but I just don’t think they’re juicy enough to use in baking.
BTW, does anyone know of a website where one can go to find what kind of spices and herbs would go with any given food? Like grapefruit for example?
Celeste — Oooh, I just dug up a couple Hollywood grapefruit cake recipes and they look very good! I love the pairing of cream cheese frosting (though find the whole segement on top kind of odd). It reminds me of these Cupcake Blog cupcakes I’ve had bookmarked for so long. How awesome does grapefruit curd sound? I think it’s time for me to try them.
Erin — Tempting! I actually thought about it too. I am such a sucker for pink these days.
Deb, those cupcakes seem like they would be amazing!!
ITA on the segments on top of the cake. I always get a little weird about fresh citrus on a dessert–the little paper thin wafers of lime on key lime pie, for example. I don’t think I would even serve fresh grapefruit with the cake; I would rather have people just wondering where the different flavor was coming from.
On a related note, have you ever used blood oranges for anything? I always think of them in the winter. The one time I ate some, I thought they tasted almost fermented. I know they’re just oranges with a pedigree, but I think they’re intriguing. I have this idea that they would make a good citrus glaze for poultry.
Mmm, that sounds interesting. It looks suspiciously like pound cake, which will surely trick me into thinking it’s yummy and bad for me. And therefore even yummier? ;)
Ina Garten and “light” are an oxymoron! Your version looks wonderful. I can not wait to try it.
I always really want to like grapefruits, but as good as they look and sound, I just can’t stand the taste. That cake looks wonderful though!
Yum! That looks GOOD! I’ll be home late late Monday night if you want to save me some.
Beautiful loaves. I bet they were good the next day as well(if there was any left). Maybe add the juice of one blood orange for a natural way to add some pinkness? Just enough to add some color.
Cooks Illustrated tested seems to indicate that cooking destroys the pungency of citrus. So I have always glazed my lemon cakes right out of the oven by poking them with a skewer and dribbling on a mixture of lemon and sugar(regular not confectioners). I bet the grapefruit was yummy this way too.
This would be fantastic with some grapefruit curd!
oh my lord! grapefruit cake? i think i’m in love. i may have to try that this weekend.
I have approximately 40 pink grapefruit languishing in my cold cellar, waiting to be eaten and I have been searching for recipes. This looks sooo delicious! Unfortunately I have no mini loaf pans… the size adds to their charm. I have also recently made Martha’s Pink Grapefruit Sandwhich cookies (see http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=recipe3430030&layout=martha) but found the grapefruit flavour was too subtle for my tastes. And I added pink food colouring.
….looks like corn bread.
Damn South Beach!!!!! I would literally rip my arm off and give it to you if it meant I could have just a crumb of that!!!!!
What a great recipe! It looks so moist and dense! A nice piece with a cup of ginger tea would be perfect right about now. Can’t wait to see what you come up with for the limes and blood oranges.
Gorgeous! Good for you for experimenting. Looks absolutely wonderful.
Yum, this looks so good. I was wondering if you meant 3 tablespoons zest instead of 3 teaspoons? It seems like a whole grapefruit would have more zest than that. Thanks for the recipe!
I love grapefruits as well. I have some hints for you–
place the sugar and the citrus zest in the food processor before adding either to the batter. this helps the oils get released, and the flavour comes through more. try to use organic fruit because commercial grapefruits are heavily waxed… you can also wash the rind in hot water.
squeeze about a cup of GF juice and reduce in a non-reactive saucepan until syrupy. add this to the batter.
use regular sugar instead of 10X for the glaze– the cornstarch in the 10X lessens the taste of the juice/zest. and same with the glaze– put some zest in food processor, cook glaze down a bit and pass through fine meshed sieve if you don’t want zesty bits.
citrus is hard to bake with. but it can be so gratifying when one works out the logistics.
for a nice garnish– “brulee” some citrus segments before serving. mmmmm!
alex, you lucky baaastaaahd :)
_ryan
Deb, I think I have to stop reading your blog. I’m going to weigh far too much if I keep on!
Jennie — Oh, you should try! In the end, you really only need about a half-cup of juice. Or, if you can find the juice somewhere unsweetened, you could use that (with sugar) for the basting and the fresh zest in the cake. Not sure of any site like you mentioned, but I’d say go with whatever you’d like with it.
Celeste — I used them once for something, maybe a salad dressing but I think they’d be really fun in this cake.
Yvo — The original recipe is totally a pound cake, so this is just a variation, minus the butter. Tastes just as good, however, and incredibly moist.
Susan — Quite possibly true, though I respect her for not throwing skim milk into her hot chocolate so she can use the word “healthy” on tv! Should you want to go all the way over to a low-fat version, I believe the old trick used to be to replace the oil with apple sauce. In a dessert cake, I think it’s odd, but for a breakfast, brunch-y snack, I think the additional fruit would fit nicely.
Jocelyn — What we need is someone to have a birthday so I can try that grapefruit, orange and lime-curd filled cupcake varieties with cream-cheese frosting. Or just cake. Cake, much easier.
AngAk — Possibly. Though I also liked, in that link above, Cupcake Blog’s use of candied grapefruit curls to let people know what was inside. I really want to make grapefruit-gettes too! (But again, the husband wrongly thinks they’ll be funny-tasting.)
Sweet Potato — Martha’s recipes always look so darling, always just-exactly-what-I’m-in-the-mood-for and so often disappoint me, too. I feel your pain!
Luisa — Thank you. I bet almond paste, like in the tea cake you made last week, would be awesome in here. Or do I just have a one-track-mind? Heh.
Eileen — Nope, I got about 1 tablespoon/3 teaspoons with our microplane. The grapefruit was medium/large. I’m pretty skimpy when I use it, though, only hitting each spot once with a back and forth motion.
shuna fish lydon — Ah Shuna! Really, sometimes I make things and just hope you’ll leave me a comment, making everything better. This was one of those things, as I remember you mentioning candied grapefruit peels a while back, leading me to suspect you know a bit about these paradisis. Thanks for all of your advice: the grinding with sugar sounds wonderful (and reminiscent of this sorbet I cannot WAIT to make again) and I’ve often felt the rind was very waxy and disturbing to zest, so good point (is it the same for oranges and lemons?). As for the glaze, the confectioners sugar is supposed to make a second white glaze, just for decoration (that Ina, always ridiculously over the top), the first was just the 1/3 cup juice and a tablespoon granulated sugar, melted together and sort of basted on. I skipped the white glaze, but used the juice baste. Brulee-ing sounds awesome, and better yet, I got a brulee torch for Hanukah! (Not from the husband, mind you, who has since installed an extra smoke alarm muttering “well, uh, you are a little clumsy…“)
Ryan — Indeed.
Flicka — Oh, but it has yogurt in it. It’s “light.” ;)
My mum loves grapefruit and she always has way too many this time of year- bruleed grapefruit, grapefruit in syrup, grapefruit and avocado salad, and on it goes. She’s so obsessed she even made a grapefruit tart once (yeah, don’t try it). I’ll pass this recipe along to her.
I’ve had my eye on this Martha Stewart recipe for grapefruit/poppy seed layer cake with mascarpone frosting for a while, but have never gotten around to making it.
I could scroll through your comments to see if anyone linked, but I’m too lazy, so here: http://bakingsheet.blogspot.com/2006/10/lime-chiffon-cake.html (!)
Also, thank you for not adding the glaze. Unless they’re chocolate, I often find them too, too sweet! Let the flavor of the CAKE shine, right?
Mmm, this looks lovely. One of my favorite fruit/cake/bread recipes comes from a friend: she demolishes a whole (yes, whole, skin and all) orange in a blender, then blends in the other ingredients. The whole thing takes one dish (the blender) and whips together (literally) in a flash. I love orange breads and etc because they’re usually not too sweet. I must ask, though - how do you get such wonderful looking crusts? Mine always end up too dark!
Okay, I arrive in Houston safe and sound and OFCOURSE I had to visit Deb’s site. What does B say as the pictures of the pound cake appear on his monitor, “Make me some now!” Deb, he was quite taken by this recipe and I’m sure I will be making this cake in the near future (three to four days) since he wanted to rush out and buy the ingredients for it after ten hours of driving.
I think I’m going to make a roasted compote to go with. It’s just any type of berry mixed with honey and a little sugar and a pinch of salt heated in the oven at 300 degrees until soft and mashed with a fork. We can thank Michael Chiarrello (sp) for this recipe.
It’s my birthday! ok, when is the superbowl? maybe as a superbowl treat. Hope it isn’t next weekend because I will be in VT
That should be awesome. Excellent. Blood orange, maybe that will get the pink.
Mmmm! Looks delish. The blood orange is a great idea also, and I just happened to pick some up from the farmer’s market today, without a real plan as to what would happen with them. If I give it a go, I’ll make sure to let you know how it turns out! :)
Mmmmm. Next you should make grapefruit curd to spread on it! (I just made some using Martha Stewart’s recipe and it was too sweet, but really really good - next time I’ll use half to 3/4 of the sugar and it will be totally AMAZING.)
Deb,
Do you have a recipe for lemon curd??? I am making cupcakes for our super bowl party and I want to put a dolop of that lemony goodness in the middle…Thanks so much!
Hi Christine - The technique and recipe I referenced from Cupcake Bakeshop is supposed to be fantastic: http://chockylit.blogspot.com/2006/01/lemon-lime-grapefruit-curd-filled.html She pairs them with cream cheese frosting.
You always come up with the most amazing recipes. This is one good looking cake!
Thanks Deb!!! I am planning on using Ina’s flower cupcake recipe with that amazing frosting and a sweet tart treat in the middle. I think your suggestion will work amazingly!!!!! Thanks so much!
When you’re ready to do this full-time in your own restaurant, please let me know. I’d like to invest. :)
And, uh, how about a series on “Cooking for Single Guys - There’s more to life than bologna”. :)
Your grapefruit cake couldn’t have come at a better time. The other day I came home with a bag of ultra cheap limes, read your recipe, and then your comment that limes should look out and thought i would give it a whirl. I’m in awe, inspired and already 3 kilos heavier than i was when i first read your post. I also had to convert the recipe to gluten free and couldn’t be happier with the results. The limes were fragrant and very very zesty, the cake offered up the crumb you said it would, and with a mound of oh so sweet vanilla ice cream a perfect end to a summer barbecue. Keep throwing the suggestions out there ’cause i’ll keep trying them out. Love the site, love your writing…
I just made it! Thank you for this! This is the second one of your recipes that I’ve made and I only found your blog a few weeks ago!
Oh Deb, your mention of grapefruit curd had me dreaming of the luscious possibilities for days. I finally caved in last night and made a grapefruit curd tart. You were right, it was amazing. If you want the recipe, it’s here. Thanks for the inspiration!!
Hello :) It’s a great recipe, thanks. I substituted the grapefruit for lemon, did without the vanilla, and it works perfectly. A cup of tea and iced lemon cake. Perfect! Hello from Ireland.
I made this for a (small) potluck, and it was a hit. Just to get rid of any hint of this being healthy, I also offered whipped cream for the top, and that was accepted with pleasure. I used an actual grapefruit for the juice, and the flavor comes through pretty well. I remember you once saying that you don’t like cakes, because they don’t stay moist…well, this is one super-moist cake! And so yummy! I have requests to make it again.
okay, so i made this yesterday in a lower sugar, lower fat version - substituting non-fat plain yogurt for the whole fat yogurt, and splenda for the sugar. it tastes awesome, maybe not quite as rich as the fattier version, but definitely worthwhile. it’s still insanely moist and the grapefruit leaves a lovely aftertaste.
I tried this with non-fat plain yogurt and lime instead of grapefruits or lemon…. Love the moistness and the zesty lime flavor of the cake. Working the oil into the batter was a bid of struggle for me, but as long as you use a large bowl you shouldn’t have that issue. As for the glaze, 2 tbsp will not make it smooth. I added 1-2tbsp water to smooth out.
I know this post is a year old now, but I rediscovered it from your 2007 in review post. I don’t even like grapefruit, but we got some as a Christmas gift, and I used one to make this cake for a potluck. It was fantastic. Everyone loved it, especially me! I’m going to have to make another one to keep for myself.
I posted the recipe for the Brown Derby’s Grapefruit Cake. It is sooo good.http://woofnanny.blogspot.com/2008/01/grapefruit-cake.html
Never wrote to this blog before, but I am writing to say that I made the grapefruit cake and it was wonderful. Thanks.BER
This bakes up so nice - the timing is perfect. So yummy, even skeptics loved it! Don’t substitute applesauce for oil - it comes out gummy and not good at all. Tonight I’m trying to make them into cupcakes/muffins
I vegan-ized it with soy yogurt and egg replacer. So yummy!
Thanks for another great recipe, Deb!
We adore our red grapefruits here and already mourn the time when the supply from the last season runs out. Only peaches and nectarines can make up for that…
But I digress. The cake is excellent! I made it several times already, and here are my comments:
1. To achieve the best grapefruit kick, the amount of vanilla should be halved, and the amount of grapefruit zest doubled. Tried it last time, that’s how I’ll make it from now on. Two large grapefruits for the zest!
2. How can a cake be soaked with juice while on a rack?! I poked a bunch of holes in the top of the cake, and spooned the juice over it while still in the pan, then ran a knife along the edges of the pan to let any excess liquid slide down to soak the bottom. The holes do look strange, but that’s when the sugar glaze comes in handy. And I don’t think it merely a decoration, at least for the sweet teeth that we are! It adds all the more to deliciousness!
3. Now, this is something I haven’t tried yet, because I don’t have it at hand… adding Campari to the the batter/juice/glaze. I love the pairing of grapefruit juice with Campari in a cocktail, and it may give the cake the much sought after pinkness, adding more bitter complexity along the way…
Oh, this comment got a bit over-sized… sorry about that.