Grapefruit and Lime Cake with a Citrus Glaze

Fresh citrus scents and colors have been on my list of must haves lately. Must be the ringing in the freshness of Spring. Anyhoo, I’ve been craving a grapefruit cake ever since I saw one in Thomas Keller’s cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home.

I made some alterations to the famous Mr. Keller’s, in an attempt to lighten it up a bit, but I don’t think I lightened it up at all. Maybe a tad.

Possibly.

Nah, probably not.

I also added lime, ’cause I like lime. Lime is good. Lime is lime-icious. This is one delicious cake, moist with a subtle fresh citrus flavor, and not too sweet. Top it with a glaze, or not.

I did make a glaze for this one, poking holes all over the top to let all the yumminess soak through. Too simple. It was a tasty addition that made for a super moist cake. The only thing I didn’t like about adding the glaze was that the holes remained visible on the cake. A thicker glaze/frosting to cover up the holes would work if it bothers you. Of course, it didn’t taste too holey for me and my crew. We gobbled it up just the same.
(One thing I forgot to do was run a knife through the dough the length of the pan before baking in order to develop an even crack along the top. Whoops. It’s rustic. Definitely imperfect.)

Fruit or vanilla ice cream would also be a nice compliment. And it would make a darn good dessert for a ladies tea or shower.

Enjoy!

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Grapefruit and Lime Cake with a Citrus Glaze

Yield: 10

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This is one delicious cake, moist with a subtle fresh citrus flavor. Top with a citrus glaze.

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Ingredients

For cake:

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (4 0z.) unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup (4 oz.) vanilla yogurt
• 3 teaspoons grapefruit juice
• 2 teaspoon lime juice
• 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest (from about 1/2 grapefruit)
• 2 teaspoons lime zest (from about 1 lime)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup milk

For glaze:

• 2 tablespoons grapefruit juice, strained
• 1 tablespoon lime juice, strained
• 1 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Instructions

For cake:

Preheat oven to 350-degrees F.

Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray. (I used an 8×4-inch pan, so if you use a different size, adjust cook time.)

In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In a separate bowl or bowl of a mixer, beat butter until fluffy.

Add brown sugar and combine well.

Beat in eggs one at a time; continue to beat for 2-3 minutes.

Add yogurt, juices, zests and vanilla and mix well. Make sure to scrape down sides of mixer every so often.

Starting and ending with flour, alternate adding flour and milk. Mix well but don’t overbeat – mix until just combined.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, put loaf pan on baking sheet and place in oven.

Bake at 350-degrees F for 25 minutes, turn pan 180-degrees and continue to bake approximately 20 more minutes. Check for doneness with a cake tester, wooden skewer or toothpick. If needed, tent with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.

If adding glaze (see recipe below), poke holes with a skewer in top of cake while still in pan and warm. Pour glaze a little at a time over cake. Use a pastry brush to spread out evenly. Let glaze soak in before pouring more on cake.

Remove cake carefully from pan. If you’d like, pour any remaining glaze over cake.

For glaze:

Combine all ingredients well. Adjust juice and/or powdered sugar for desired consistency.

Notes

Adapted from Thomas Keller’s, Ad Hoc at Home.

Makes 1 9-inch loaf pan.

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