Pink Grapefruit Cake has grapefruit zest in the batter, and grapefruit juice in the soaking syrup and glaze. It’s full of tart citrus flavor.
Hey, remember that time I had all those oranges and grapefruits, and begged for citrus recipes? You guys had some awesome ideas, and I dutifully bookmarked them and printed them and planned on a whopper of a Citrus Month…and then ate almost all of the fruit raw. Grapefruit for breakfast, sometimes two or three oranges per lunch–they were just that good. So unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) very few of the citrus fruits actually made it into baked goods.
But! I was able to save a few from my ravenous lunch-belly and make a few goodies, like this Pink Grapefruit Cake. I’ve actually been intending to bake this for over a year now, ever since I first saw it on Two Peas and Their Pod. I’m no stranger to baking with oranges or lemons, but pink grapefruit…now that sounded intriguing!
This cake recipe uses grapefruit zest in the batter, and grapefruit juice in a soaking syrup and glaze, so it’s full of tart citrus flavor. It also has plenty of greek yogurt to keep it moist and add a little extra tang.
It turned out to be a quiet, sweet little thing–not a showy birthday cake, but perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up next to a glass of tea. And, if you happen to nibble on it for breakfast one morning, you won’t even feel too guilty–it’s just that light and tart and refreshing.
Pink Grapefruit Cake
Ingredients
For the Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake
- Adapted from Two Peas and Their Pod
- 3/4 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- zest of 1 1/2 pink grapefruits
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup canola oil
For the Grapefruit Syrup
- 1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
- 4 tsp granulated sugar
For the Grapefruit Glaze
- 2/3 cup powdered sugar
- 4 tsp fresh grapefruit juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray. Dust lightly with flour too. Set pan aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, add the grapefruit zest to the sugar. Rub together with your fingers until fragrant. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, sugar, and zest with large spoon or spatula. Whisk in the eggs-you can do all three at once. Mix until smooth and then add in the vanilla and stir again.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix just until flour is incorporated.
- Add the oil and mix well. It might take a minute to get the oil mixed in, but it will.
- Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until your cake tester comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched in the center.
- Cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes and then remove from the pan. While the cake is cooling make the syrup and glaze.
- For the syrup, in a small sauce pan add the grapefruit juice and sugar. Whisk over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
- For the glaze, in a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and grapefruit juice. If it is too thick, add more juice, if it is too runny, add more sugar.
- Poke little holes into the cake with a toothpick. Spoon the grapefruit syrup over the cake and let it soak in. Let the cake cool to room temperature and then add the glaze. Drizzle over the top of the cake.
Recipe Notes
Measuring Tips
Our recipes are developed using weight measurements, and we highly recommend using a kitchen scale for baking whenever possible. However, if you prefer to use cups, volume measurements are provided as well. PLEASE NOTE: the adage “8 oz = 1 cup” is NOT true when speaking about weight, so don’t be concerned if the measurements don’t fit this formula.
Want to learn more about baking measurements and conversion?
That just stole the "thing on your blog I most want to eat" award away from the nutella entry!
Love the look of this little pink grapefruit cake! I have been craving citrus lately and this looks so yummy!