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This wonderful recipe is a versatile, not-too-sweet cake that keeps its perfect texture for days, thanks for the combination of Greek yogurt, olive oil, and grapefruit juice. It will happily travel with you to any party or picnic, and be the favorite guest.
The texture is similar to a pound cake or tea cake, with a fantastic crumb. Dense, moist, and light all at once, with little constellations of grapefruit notes zinging to the surface of each bite. The edges had a carmel-y chew to them, which was a nice contrast with the softer middle. As a bonus, it's also very simple to make, and I plan to keep it in my go-to recipes.
I discovered it on PDXfoodlove, adapted from Smitten Kitchen, adapted from Ina Garten.
Ingredients:
Dry:
1.5 cups all-purpose white flour
1 cup plus 1T white granulated sugar
large pinch of coarse sea salt (Maldon would work too if you're extra-fancy)
2tsp baking powder
zest of one medium to large grapefruit (I used a Star Ruby)
Wet:
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of your favorite EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil)
1 cup whole-fat plain Greek yogurt
1/3 cup fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice (one half of the grapefruit yielded just under 1/3, so use a little from the second half but reserve the rest for the glaze, which you'll make at the end.)
1/2tsp vanilla extract
Equipment:
One standard sized loaf pan
Cooking spray or butter + flour, to grease the pan
Microplane zester/grater
Dry measuring cups
Liquid measuring cup
teaspoons
Whisk
Spatula
One large bowl
One small-medium bowl
Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 350, and grease the loaf pan. I used a disposable foil pan this time (easier for gifting) and greased it with butter. Assemble your dry ingredients in a large bowl, and stir together until well mixed. I don't have a microplane zester at home, so I used my normal grater and it worked just fine. I'm sure larger pieces of zest would be nice as well.
2) Assemble your wet ingredients in a smaller bowl, adding the grapefruit juice last in case it curdles with the eggs. Whisk or beat by hand, no machine necessary, unless you want to whip out your vintage beaters (thanks, cousins!).
3) Add the wet ingredients to the dry bowl all at once, using a spatula to fold together. Try not to over-mix, and if you have a few pebbly bumps that's ok, just make sure there aren't flour pockets. The small lumps won't interfere with the final texture. Pour into the greased pan, making sure to scrape the bowl clean. Voila! Into the oven it goes.
4) Bake for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick/skewer comes out clean from the center. It will be golden brown on top. Wait for at least 15 minutes to cool before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Once cool, assemble the glaze by combining the remaining grapefruit juice with powdered sugar until it makes an opaque but still somewhat runny glaze. This usually takes a surprisingly small amount of liquid, so add slowly. Drizzle liberally over the loaf, and enjoy your first mouthwatering slice. Maybe with a good cup of Earl Grey on the side.
Till next time,
Pies & Pinups