Glazed Grapefruit Bundt Cake
If you’ve ever been pregnant, you probably know that everyone loves to ask if you’ve had any cravings. For the most part- my pregnancy has been rather boring in that department as once my first trimester ended I’ve been into eating pretty much everything. For the last two weeks though, it has been all about one thing- citrus. I’ve been pretty obsessed. I always feel thirsty and a juicy orange or clementine or grapefruit seems to always sound good. I think I’ve gone through 3 of those crates of clementines in the last two weeks and I just got another. Thank goodness it’s so in season right now because I truly can’t get enough.
I made this cake a couple weeks ago for a dinner party where a “citrusy” dessert was requested. In my opinion, grapefruit gets highly overlooked in general and as it’s one of my absolute favorite flavors I was thrilled to find this cake on my friend Tracey’s blog. It’s originally made in a loaf pan, but I decided to fancy it up a bit in a bundt. The cake is oh so good. I mean it’s amazing. The texture is moist and flavorful and the grapefruit syrup that it soaks up makes it even more so. A grapefruit glaze on top adds that punch of flavor even more and adds a delicious extra sweetness.
Though Andy loves and eats everything I bake, he went a little nuts for this particular cake. He told me that day it was one of his favorite things I’ve ever made and then requested it again a few days later when his parents were visiting us. Turns out that his Dad can’t eat grapefruit though so I made it with lemon and it was also wonderful. (Though I think I prefer the grapefruit since it’s such a unique, under-used flavor.) This is an excellent, easy, crowd pleasing recipe I can’t wait to make again!
*Note- I tend to get impatient with bundt cakes and I try to flip them right away. This lead to bits of the cake sticking to the pan which is why the surface looks a bit crater-y. Please learn from my mistake and let it cool before you flip. The cake is so fluffy and tender it needs to cool to stay bound together :)
Glazed Grapefruit Bundt Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Syrup
- 1/2 cup grapefruit juice
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Glaze
- 3/4-1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon of grapefruit zest for sprinkling, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Generously butter and flour a 9-inch bundt pan. Set aside.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, use your hands to rub the sugar and zest together for a minute or two. Add the eggs to the bowl with the sugar mixture and beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, or until the mixture is thick and creamy. With the mixer running, stream in the milk, then the oil and finally the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients, beating just until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cake cool completely on a wire rack before inverting onto a cake stand or platter. (You can speed the cooling process up a bit in the freezer.)
- While the cake is baking, make the syrup: Combine the grapefruit juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then continue to simmer for 1 minute.
- When the cake has been cooled and inverted, prick the top with a fork all over and brush it generously with the syrup.
To make the glaze:
- Stir the powdered sugar and grapefruit juice together adding a tablespoon of the juice first, and then a bit more if needed until the glaze is a thick but pourable consistency.
- Drizzle glaze generously over the cake, and sprinkle with zest if desired. Allow cake to set before serving.
Notes
Recipe adapted slightly from: Tracey's Culinary Adventures via Ad Hoc at Home by Thomas Keller
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Unsaturated Fat: 0g
Oh man, this looks incredible! I think you are right that the grapefruit gets over-looked. I haven’t seen it in many baked goods, but I am loving your creative bundt cake! And, my hubby is kind of a grapefruit freak so this looks like something that is a must try! Pinned!
I have a huge craving of citrus right now, too. I guess it’s the season! Can’t wait to try both versions out -the grapefruit and the lemon one!
xo, Elisa
I’m such a grapefruit fan! I need this cake in my life!
This cake looks delicious! Grapefruit is so good this time of year, what a fun way to use it! I remember when my mom was pregnant with my sister (ages ago!), she was craving citrus all the time too! We used to have oranges for snack every day
This cake is so pretty and delicious sounding! win win!
I am definitely a fan of grapefruit in baked goods and feel like it’s definitely not used enough! Totally making this this winter. Maybe when the next polar vortex comes through? :P
Love this. I made a Grapefruit Pound Cake with a crackly fruit crust a few months ago and I still dream about it.
This is my kind of cake, Audra.
Stunning.
It’s been a while since I baked w grapefruit.
Must get crackin’!
Don’t forget to enter my foodie giveaway. There’s still time! xoxo
I love love love grapefruits. I just want a slice of this with a huge mug of fruity tea!
Gotta make this one. Looks really good!
Mom it was truly amazing.
What a yummy looking bundt cake and a grapefruit one to boot!
I don’t think I ever had any kind of grapefruit cake……where have I been?!
Going to make this soon, thanks for the recipe!
Pinned! :-)
May I substitute a mild olive oil for the vegetable oil and suffer no ill consequences?
P.S. I eat half a grapefruit daily, I love this fruit!
This will be my dessert at my dinner party on Saturday. Our friend loves bundt cakes.
Hi Julie! Yes light olive oil would be perfect!
I made this and LOVED it! It didn’t an overly strong grapefruit flavour and could have easily passed for lemon but that could have been my fault too. I loved the texture, it was light, moist and delicious. I bake all the time but completely messed up the mixing process and it still turned out great. I mixed the egg straight into the dry ingredients and then added the rest of the wet ingredients. I’m going to make this again this week and can’t wait to see how much better it is when mixed correctly! Loved, loved, loved it!
Thanks Cindy- I’m glad it worked out for you- Next time feel free to amp up the syrup for more grapefruit flavor :)
Hi Audra,
Thank you for sharing this recipe. I made this recipe for the 2nd time and it was a huge success each time. When it comes to cakes, I am very picky of the texture and the sweetness. This recipe was perfect. However, I did only use 1 cup plus one tablespoon of sugar instead of 1 and 2/3 cup of sugar.
Also, I used a loaf pan instead and added 1 tablespoon of vanilla bean into the batter and it was amazing! Perfect moist texture and sweetness. I love Starbucks loaf cakes and this one definitely can replace my cravings! xo
Hi. From time to time I see kosher salt being used in cake recipes. What is the purpose of using kosher salt instead of table salt in a cake? It is my understanding that coarse salt generally should not be yak in cakes. Thanks.
Im dying to try this tomorrow but I just have a hand held electric mixer. Do you think it will still turn out good? Any tips? TIA:)
Yes I think it will be totally fine :)
My mom and I are baking this now! Looks delicious :)
Love this recipe! I would like to try lemon..do i just replace grapefruit ingredients in this recipe with lemon? Thank you