Shall we cake? I say so, and therefore I present this grapefruit drizzle cake.
This is one of those perfect loaf cakes that sits on the counter and before you know it a few days later it’s disappeared. It’s the kind you walk by and casually lop of a slice of because you just can’t help yourself.
And since Easter’s coming up…well, I figured it was as good a reason as any to share it.
You can probably glean from the name that I was inspired by my oh-so-favorite lemon drizzle cake (which would also be a lovely addition to any Easter spread!). Practically perfect sponge dripped and infused with freshly squeezed grapefruit juice.
My go-to recipe for a cake like this is to keep it simple with eggs, butter, sugar and self-rising flour, but the last few times I’ve gone for that method I’ve had a few disasters with the cake not rising as it should. I blame my self-rising flour – I just don’t think it’s something that moves off the grocery shelves (or my pantry for that matter) at the pace required to maintain its freshness. I revamped the recipe using a more traditional leavening agent and you know, it did the trick.
No sunken loaves here.
I do very much prefer to use mass versus volume – it is the method preferred by much of the rest of the world, so I’m giving you both options here. If in doubt, weight it out. I can’t recommend a kitchen scale enough.
Grapefruit Drizzle Cake
Traditional drizzle cake made with a grapefruit twist- made with only a few simple ingredients. Easy to throw together and delicious for any occasion!
Ingredients
- 235 g unsalted butter (1 cup + 1 TB)
- 235 g sugar (1 cup + 1 TB)
- 235 g eggs (4 large eggs)
- 235 g all-purpose flour, sifted (1 ½ cups + 1 ½ TB)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 4 TB grapefruit zest
- 3 TB fresh grapefruit juice
- For the glaze:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 6 TB fresh grapefruit juice
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and sugar a loaf pan.
- Step 2 In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar and zest until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Step 3 One at a time, add the eggs, mixing well after each addition.
- Step 4 Add the flour, a bit at a time, blending after each addition. Careful to not overmix! Add the grapefruit juice.
- Step 5 Spread the batter into your prepared loaf pan.
- Step 6 Bake for 45-60 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean. Remove from the oven and poke a few holes in the top of the cake, careful not to tear the cake.
- Step 7 Once the cake is out of the oven, make the drizzle by combining the powdered sugar and remaining juice. Pour over the warm cake and let cool completely before removing it from the pan.
- Step 8 Serve with fresh whipped cream and a cup of tea.
