Grapefruit Tea Cake
A lightly sweet, citrusy cake that is perfect with a cup of tea or coffee, or for a weeknight dessert.
Servings: 9 servings
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- zest from one large grapefruit
- 4 ounces soft butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream or full-fat yogurt
- 1/4 cup fresh grapefruit juice [about the amount from a large grapefruit]
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 large grapefruit
- 1 cup confectionary sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and generously butter an 8x8 inch glass baking dish. Put a tablespoon of flour in the buttered dish, and tilt it around to get flour on all the buttered surfaces. Knock out the extra flour.
- Zet the first grapefruit, placing the zest in a small bowl. Squeeze the juice into a measuring cup and set aside.
- Measure the sugar into the same bowl as the grapefruit zest. Rub the sugar and zest between your fingers until they are well combined, and the oils from the zest have come out into the mixture. It will have a coarser appearance than the sugar alone has.
- Place the butter in the bowl of the mixer, and add the sugar/zest mixture. Beat until well combined.
- Beat in the egg, and then the sour cream and grapefruit juice.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
- Empty the bowl of dry ingredients into the mixer, and beat on low-medium speed, scraping the sides of the bowl a few times, until the batter is well mixed. Don't overmix - it is not going to be super smooth. [see the photo in the post]
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, turning the pan halfway through the time. A toothpick inserted near the center should come out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the drizzle, if you plan to use it. Cut the second grapefruit from top to bottom. Zest the peel from one half into a small bowl. Squeeze the juice from that half into the same bowl. Add the confectionary sugar, and mix until smooth - set aside. Use a sharp knife to peel the other half, and cut it into segments, for decoration on the tops of pieces of cake. Try not to have any of the connecting parts of the segments- they are very tough on a grapefruit.
- Remove the pan to a cooling rack. After five minutes, loosen the edges, invert the cooling rack on top of the pan, and turn it over. The cake should come out in one piece. [this is why you use butter and flour] Slice in 9 pieces, or less if you want bigger pieces.
- You can serve this with just a dusting of confectionary sugar, some whipped cream, or as I did, with the grapefruit drizzle and a couple segments of grapefruit.
Notes
Store leftovers in the fridge for a few days at most. Bring back to room temperature to serve.