A classic pound cake with the slightly bitter, citrusy tang of grapefruit. Great with lemon or orange as well. Adapted from the New York Times Cookbook, 1961.
Prep Time20 minutesmins
Cook Time1 hourhr30 minutesmins
Cool in Pan10 minutesmins
Total Time2 hourshrs
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Grapefruit Pound Cake, Pound Cake
Servings: 12slices
Equipment
9 x 31/2 inch Bundt or tube pan
Ingredients
Grapefruit Pound Cake
1cbutter, at room temperature
zest of 1/2 grapefruit(about 2 tsp)
1/2tspsalt
1 2/3cgranulated sugar
5eggs
1tsporange blossom water(optional but lovely)
1 3/4call-purpose flour
Grapefruit Glaze
2cpowdered sugar(sifted if it's lumpy, otherwise don't bother)
1tsporange blossom water or vanilla extract
1-3Tgrapefruit juice
Instructions
Grapefruit Pound Cake
Measure out all ingredients and allow to come to room temperature.
Thoroughly grease your Bundt or tube pan, and lightly flour it, turning it so you get an even coating of flour. Set aside.
Add butter to the bowl of a stand mixer (or to a large bowl, and use a hand mixer). Add salt, and beat for 4 minutes at medium speed, stopping to scrape the bowl once or twice.
Continuing to beat on low speed, gradually add the sugar and grapefruit zest and blend until fluffy, beating for another 2 minutes. Scrape bowl.
Add 4 of the eggs one at a time, continuing to beat for a total of about 1 minute. Scrape bowl.
Add all of the flour and beat 2 more minutes. Scrape bowl.
Add the 5th egg and the orange flower water, beating just until incorporated, about 15 seconds.
Pour the batter into your prepared Bundt or tube pan.
Place in a COLD oven, then set the temperature at 300°F. Bake for about 1 1/2 hours or so, until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
Grapefruit Glaze
Put the powdered sugar into a small bowl, and add the orange flower water or vanilla extract, then 1 T of the grapefruit juice. Stir together (I like to use a fork).
You want a glaze that's thick enough to stick to the cake, but thin enough to drizzle nicely. If you lift the fork out of the bowl and you get a thick drizzle off of it, it's good. If it's still too thick, add more grapefruit juice until it's the consistency you want.
Place the wire rack with the cooled cake on it onto a sheet pan, parchment paper, or something else to catch drips. Then, drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake, trying to evenly disburse it around the cake. This works best if the cake is cooled - if it's still warm, most of the glaze will end up on the sheet pan, not on your cake. :)
Slice it up and serve! It's nice with a dollop of whipped cream, but equally delicious all on its own. Store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days; or slice it up, place slices in an airtight container, and freeze for up to 2 months.
Pro tip: this cake is delicious straight out of the freezer, even without thawing! If you freeze it in slices, you can grab a slice whenever you need one.
Notes
Notes:
This recipe can be easily cut in half and baked in a loaf pan. If you do so, use 3 eggs.
Try baking this as cupcakes! Bake at 275°F for 20-30 minutes. Makes about 18 cupcakes.