Grapefruit Pound Cake

ready to eat

I am in the final stretches of the manuscript before I hand it off to my co-author and she puts her finishing touches on it and then off it goes to the editor – wheee!

So my narrative is pretty boring these days. It goes a little like this.

grapefruit

Manuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscript
manuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscript
manuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscript
manuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscriptmanuscript.

There’s an occasional gym break, lunch and dinner breaks, but pretty much – this is my life. I’m sure it sounds familiar to anyone who’s written a book.

cake mise

I also made this cake awhile back before things got crazy. It’s a Cooking Light recipe that I, um, un-lightened (?), de-lightened (?), putting in full-fat everything, and then some. The way I see it, is if I’m having a baked good, I’m already being “bad”. I’ll just have a smaller slice and enjoy it all the more.

I made the cake, ate most of it while Andrew was in New Orleans enjoying things like bacon and beignets (not like I’m jealous or anything), and then promptly lost the recipe. Thankfully, my next door neighbor who introduced me to this cake in the first place, had the recipe clipped.

But the cake is worth noting and making. For one, it’s got that bright citrus zing that’s much needed this time of year – and grapefruit is just perfect here. You can make it ahead of time and freeze it (bonus). It’s simple, not overly sweet, and you can have it as dessert or as an accompaniment to coffee. And if you’re not into glaze (sometimes I’m not, I get it), you can just omit it all together.

drizzle

Did you just read the above three paragraphs and fall asleep? I really don’t have anything interesting to say except for the mundane, everyday ephemera.

delicious slices

But just because I don’t have anything interesting to say, doesn’t mean that other places don’t. Here are a few things that have caught my eye this past week. Enjoy the cake and enjoy the links. I’ll be back next week, promise!!

Lard never gets old.

Citrus Salt from Heidi. As usual, genius.

Using Whey in Bread.

Raw Hemp Protein Bars – something I want to try!

Luisa just solved tonight’s dinner dilemma. Thank you, Luisa!

Brian fully and completely going after what he loves – admirable and amazing leap!

This lunch.

Print

Grapefruit Pound Cake
Adapted from Cooking Light

2 cups (255 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5/8 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 cups (338 grams) granulated sugar
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, softened
6 ounces (170 grams) cream cheese, softened
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup (59 mL) extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons finely grated grapefruit zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (118 mL) whole milk
1/2 cup (118 mL) fresh grapefruit juice
1 cup (110 grams) powdered sugar, plus more for dusting

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Position the rack in the middle.

2. Butter a 10-inch tube pan or a 10-cup bundt pan and lightly dust with powdered sugar. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

3. In a stand-mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat sugar, butter and cream cheese, on high speed, until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, scraping the bottom of the bowl between additions. Beat in oil, zest, and vanilla.

4. Add the flour mixture and milk, alternating between the two and ending with flour. Spoon batter into pan, smooth the top with a spatula, and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes. Cool in pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake and cool completely before glazing.

5. Place juice in a sauce pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Cook until reduce to about 3 tablespoons, about 4 minutes. Cool slightly. Stir in powdered sugar and remaining salt. Drizzle over cake.

32 Comments

  • Leens

    This is actually very timely … tomorrow is tu b’shevat (the birthday of the trees .. or Jewish Arbor Day) and you are supposed to celebrate by eating tree fruits and generally getting jiggy with tree based foods :)

  • Radish

    Lena – “getting jiggy with tree based foods” made me laugh. Love it.

    Emily – citrus and winter are such good friends, aren’t they? Enjoy the cake, it’s a keeper for me!

  • Simona

    Hi Olga! I’m thinking of making this cake but wanted to make some subs (1. we’ve got tons of meyer lemons in our backyard -do you think I can sub them for grapefruits?, 2. -I’ve already got soooo many different banking dishes/pans but don’t have the tube one. I’m running out of any storage room -can I use a regular baking dish instead of the tube? If yes, what size do you think is optimal? Good luck with your book! Can’t wait to read it As always, love reading your blog :-))

  • Phoebe

    So, I’ve been a long time blog follower…and I actually am a food editor at Cooking Light! haha

    I’m glad the fattened-up pound cake turned out well for you! I probably would’ve cut the amount of oil down since the oil did help to moisten the cake without using as much butter. But since you added more butter, the oil wasn’t as necessary.

    P.S. If you try our version, I’d love to hear what you think of it. I remember tasting this in our kitchen, and it was really really good…in a “this doesn’t taste like it’s light” kind of way, haha.

  • Radish

    Simona – do you have a bundt? If not, I think you can use anything that can take 10 cups of batter. Or just eyeball it and check on it after an hour. Let me know what you have and we can work together backwards. Also Meyer lemons would be amazing in this – absolutely amazing. Your glaze might be slightly more tart.

    Phoebe – ha, I got busted for fattening up a recipe! I did try your version – and it was superb. My next door neighbor made it and I loved it. I just wanted to see what would happen with a full-fat version. I have the original and will definitely make it as well. As for your magazine, I’ve been a longtime fan as well! Thanks for reading! :)

  • Emily

    You know, sometimes you just need full-fat everything. Reduced-fat dairy just boggles me… even as a self-proclaimed health nut, I still don’t really understand the rationale behind stuff like skim milk. You just end up using more.

    That said, I do often lighten up desserts, because sometimes I just need to eat a really huge wedge of cake (shark week, I’m looking at you), and I don’t really love that weighed-down feel. And I’m sure the lighter version of this is great! I’d just put it in a different category, you know?

  • Radish

    Emily – the light version of this cake is actually delicious. I just didn’t have any reason not to fatten it. Shark week is a fine reason to limit dessert intake – I’m with you!

    Marisa – thank you. It will feel good as I plunge into…. book #2 immediately!

  • Brian @ A Thought For Food

    I was so happy to hear that you had made a grapefruit cake… This is so different from the one I prepared and I’m happy to have another to try! Your life is not mundane, by the way… it’s just life. You’re busy (and that’s great)!

  • Radish

    Liza – you can make it – it is SOOOOO easy. Or better yet, how about i make it and we get some coffee. We are overdue! xo

  • Diana @ Appetite for China

    Oh, your description of manuscript life is perfectly accurate. I just ended a year-long intensive book-writing and photography process. It consumed my entire life and at points the furniture and floors in my apartment were covered in paper. Like you, days and conversations were all manuscriptmanuscriptmanuscript.

    But doesn’t it feel great to be finally done? And so nice that you celebrated with cake!

  • emmycooks

    I love de-lightening (and, let me confess, also occasionally de-veganizing) recipes. It feels so naughty. And tastes so good. And oh, yum, grapefruit. I see a cake in my future.

  • The Cozy Herbivore

    I love the combination of citrus and baked goods. The zippy grapefruit seems just the thing to lighten up a classic cake! Looks beautiful, and keep on plugging… that manuscript will be done before you know it!

  • Megan Gordon

    Love this! I’m obsessed with grapefruit lately, Olga. Literally can’t get enough. Sam and I actually joke because I’ll eat a whole one at breakfast and he insists that people don’t do this — that I’m an anomaly. So I started baking with them, too…did a scone recipe on The Kitchn last week and can’t wait to try this lovely cake. Good luck with the manuscriptmanuscriptmanuscript; We’re all eager to see the end product!

  • Radish

    Megan – I loooove grapefruit so much! I totally get it. I missed your Kitchn recipe, but then again, I’ve missed just about everything lately. I’ll go and check it out. :) Hope you guys are settling in nicely!

  • Amy ~ Calico Hen

    I just have to share that my husband has requested that I make the Grapefruit Pound Cake again. This kind of request does not happen often and I wasn’t sure if he’d even try it. Yay! (Of course, I loved it too). I picked the prettiest of eggs from our hens to make it the first time and used white whole wheat flour (I don’t keep AP flour on hand) and it turned out great.

  • Radish

    Amy – great to know that you used white whole wheat flour and it worked. :) And so glad your husband loved the cake!

  • Sharyn Dimmick

    I just made an olive oil-grapefruit bundt cake (not your recipe) and I was so disappointed. I wanted it to have a strong, identifiable grapefruit taste, which it did not. The recipe called for brown sugar and whole wheat flour. I substituted corn meal and unbleached flour, but I suspect I should have used white sugar, too, so as not to lose the grapefruit flavor.

  • Radish

    Sharyn – i think it’s important, first time around, to make the recipe exactly as instructed, particularly baking… to see what the end result is like. And then improvise. I’m sorry your cake was a disappointment though! let me know, if you attempt this one, what you think. I am a huge fan.

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  • Whitney

    Love this cake. We’ve made it many times over the years and it’s a favorite in our house. I’ve made two very minor changes – one is to butter and then flour my bundt pan instead of using powdered sugar – it makes my cakes release from the pan more easily. Also, I make more glaze than the original recipe calls for, it’s so good!

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