Made | Grapefruit yogurt cake

I have this tendency to grocery shop for the healthiest version of me. I buy the big bag of carrots even though Mike doesn't eat them, I buy three bunches of broccoli for two people, all the salad greens, and four different kinds of fruit. Among that fruit selection is usually one lone grapefruit, stuffed to the back of the fridge, remembered only when he's past his prime and wrinkled beyond recognition. That is the fate of the grapefruit I buy.

It's not for lack of liking grapefruit. It's pink and it tastes pink (in the best way), but it is so hard to eat. I eat breakfast on the go or at work a lot, and a grapefruit does not travel gracefully. Unless, of course, you zest it, juice it, and bake it in a bread cake, like Deb did all those many years ago. She has since updated the recipe (and photos) for her cookbook, but I fell in love with this simple and grapefruit-y recipe.

First, I zested my grapefruit and piled that together, then I juiced the grapefruit using a regular old citrus juicer.

Then toss the dry ingredients (flour+salt+baking powder) into a purple bowl (or color of your choice).

The sugar, eggs, oil/applesauce, vanilla, and yogurt get whisked together in their own green bowl. Then the dry ingredients meet the wet ingredients and there's no turning back. 

You let it relax and cool off for a bit, then you put it on a rack and give it a grapefruit+sugar bath. 

But one bath is never sufficient, so you finish it off with a powdered sugar+grapefruit juice bath and all is well in the world. 

The cake is a bit tart, which is offset by the sweetness of the glaze. Reducing the amount of grapefruit juice+sugar mixture that you pour over the first time will help with that, but if you're not a fan of tart, what are you doing buying a grapefruit anyway?

Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

What you'll need
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon (13 grams) sugar
3 extra-large eggs
1 tablespoon grated grapefruit zest (I just zested one grapefruit)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I did 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup apple sauce, but you could probably replace it all with apple sauce and not tell the difference)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice (one large grapefruit makes more than this)

For the glaze:
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan, or if you double the recipe, grease a bundt pan.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, eggs, grapefruit zest, and vanilla. Slowly whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. With a rubber spatula, fold the vegetable oil (or apple sauce) into the batter, until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

While your cake bakes, cook the 1/3 cup grapefruit juice and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.

When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan or the sink. I just suspended the cooling rack over the sink and poured the grapefruit juice and sugar mixture over the top while the cake was still warm.

Combine the confectioners’ sugar and grapefruit juice to make the glaze and pour over the cooled cake.