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Grapefruit Sugar Pound Cake is quintessentially summer's breath on a fancy plate. Consume slowly.
Grapefruit Sugar Pound Cake is a straightforward cream cheese pound cake, elevated by the addition of grapefruit. It’s summertime after all. And every time I bake it, I am thrust back to my earliest memories of childhood, and of running away. Nice, right??
A Crate & Barrel exclusive, Nordic Ware Silver Anniversary Bundt Pan with Cooling Rack, Double Chocolate Bundt Mix and Vanilla Bean Cake Mix. Click image for pricing.
No, I did not have a bad childhood. I was acting out after being told ‘no’ by my Grandmother. Rules at Grandma’s were way different than rules at home. I guess I had just had enough in my four short years and figured I would rather strike out on my own, haha. What a brat!
This classic Bundt shape is the absolute best for showing off the beautiful grapefruit cream cheese glaze, and that gorgeous grapefruit sugar. Click images for pricing.
No two ways, this is a straightforward cream cheese pound cake. It is an old recipe that has been kicking around for decades or longer.
But I still retain this vivid memory of packing all my Grandmother’s crochet squares (…unclear why I was packing crochet squares to make my getaway, but there we are) into my new kiddy suitcase which had pictures of colorful mushrooms all over it (very 1974 chic). Once packed, I headed for the back door. I remember pulling my snazzy new suitcase through the kitchen and grabbing a HUGE moist hunk of Grapefruit Sugar Pound Cake with my bare hand and heading out.
Pretty southern kitchen things worth celebrating. Linen and cotton blend tea towel with ultra feminine soft citrus pattern. Click image for pricing.
If you read through this cake method you will recognize it, more or less. I have taken this process a step further by elevating it with the addition of grapefruit sugar. It’s summertime after all…
Seriously, I suppose I thought the amount of cake I nabbed would sustain me for a week. The hunk was as big as my head. Little did I know that pilfered cake would be what gave me away. After somebody saw the mess I’d made destroying Gram’s beautiful grapefruit masterpiece, they immediately began looking for me, presumably to scold me. I made it as far as the cow barn before my plan was foiled…
Grapefruit Sugar Pound Cake is subtle, with hints and nods to the grapefruit. A lovely grapefruit cream cheese glaze livens the notes in this cake. Oh, and then there is the grapefruit sugar...
Something I am always on the lookout for at flea markets and yard sales are 'in good condition' kitchen tools. Among a growing collection of Bundt pans is this rather generic Bundt form relatively known to everybody. For this recipe, I love this form. The grapefruit sugar has a place to land and to rest on the bold roundedness of this Bundt. I have more intricate Bundts but they would not showcase that grapefruit sugar in the light in the same way, so if you have the "generic Bundt," use it.
The investment that will last the home chef a lifetime, today's stand mixer's are equipped with attachments that do everything from juice to make pasta...click images for pricing.
How did you not know you were missing grapefruit sugar in your life? It's a serious question!
In addition to a gorgeously moist crumb, this cake boasts a cream cheese frosting. Well, a grapefruit cream cheese glaze, really. If you like grapefruit, I implore you to give this recipe a go. It is subtle, but it's in there. The crumb is not overly sweet, something the glaze more than makes up for. I specify 1 1/2 cups of Confectioners sugar, but you could easily add an additional ounce of cream cheese, or lessen the amount of Confectioners to 3/4 cup. For reference, I am not a sugar-lover. The amount I specify is for somebody who enjoys this cake with ONLY that amount of sugar.
Ingredients
Did you know that it’s super easy to print out a version of a half recipe or even a double recipe on Not Entirely Average? Hover over the serving size (highlighted in blue, it says 24 on this recipe) and then slide the the white line to the left to make less or to the right to make more. This "calculator" allows you to play until you get the number of servings you want. Easy.
Ingredients for Grapefruit Cream Cheese Glaze
- 4 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups Confectioner's sugar
- 1/3 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and any pulp
- 1/4 teaspoon quality vanilla extract
Ingredients for Grapefruit Sugar Pound Cake
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 large grapefruit pink grapefruit has the mildest and sweeter taste
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 7 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon quality vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup fresh buttermilk, at room temperature
Instructions
Prepare the Grapefruit Cream Cheese Glaze
- Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar for several minutes until light and creamy. Add the grapefruit juice and any pulp and the vanilla and beat until combined. Refrigerate while the cake bakes.
Prepare the Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°
- Using a silicone pastry brush, dot and spread one tablespoon of the softened butter to every fold and crease in the Bundt pan. Be sure to butter the entire pan. Flour liberally tapping out any excess. Set aside.
- In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Using a vegetable peeler, peel the zest of the grapefruit. Put the zest and 2/3 of the sugar in a spice grinder or mini chef prep and pulse until the zest is combined with the sugar. Reserve 1 heaping tablespoon of the grapefruit sugar.
- Place the softened butter, cream cheese and both the 1 cup of granulated sugar and the remaining grapefruit sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer; beat together until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Be sure to scrape the bowl using a spatula to make sure all ingredients are sufficiently incorporated. Beat in oil and vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately to the batter, starting and ending with the flour. Again be sure to scrape the bowl using a spatula to make sure all ingredients are sufficiently incorporated.
- Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake at 325° for one hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes then invert on to your desired cake plate or stand.
Assembly
- Once the cake has cooled completely (at least 1 hour), transfer from cooling rack to a cake platter or stand. Drizzle or pour the icing over the top of the cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides and into the center. Sprinkle the top with the tablespoon of grapefruit sugar you reserved. Slice the remaining zested grapefruit and use wedges to garnish and also serve alongside. Serve and enjoy. Refrigerate any uneaten portions as the glaze is dairy.
This sounds amazing! I'm on a no dairy or egg diet right now due to my baby's food allergies, but am totally bookmarking this beauty for when I am done nursing! My husband has a funny running away story too -- he packed underwear and a toothbrush and that is all! Ha ha!
-Meg
http://www.deposanddemos.com
Meg, thanks for swinging by Not Entirely Average! It's a special time for you - congratulations on the birth of your baby! Do give this recipe a go when it's safe to do so. The Grapefruit Pound Cake is entirely incredible and certainly not what I was expecting - it was moist, sweet, dense, and extremely satisfying. Before I baked it, I just kept asking myself 'why must you do grapefruit???' Let me know how it turns out and by all means send pics of your new little one!!
x-Jenny