Mummy Dearest - Grapefruit Cake

So here's how I celebrated Mother's Day in the kitchen... with a grapefruit (amongst other things).

Grapefruit reminds me of my mother. Of course there're a lot of other things too but this is one. She used to eat grapefruit frequently, maybe a few days a week. Cut the grapefruit in half, cut the circumference of the fruit between the flesh and the pith, cut the flesh from the membrane holding each segment of the fruit. Finally, dive in with a teaspoon and scoop out the refreshing, pink, juicy pulp and savour each spoonful!



Grapefruit has a more delicate flavour than oranges, limes and lemons. When I grated the skin the fragrance was just wonderful! Lemon is fresh and quite "perky" but this was entirely different. I loved it. (:

I adapted this recipe from Whisk Kid (this kid is so good at what she does that she honestly makes me green with envy!). To make this even more rewarding, I learnt how to segment a citrus fruit easily! Kudos to A Thought for Food.

Kaitlin's grapefruit is very pink and I love that about it. My grapefruit (there was only one type of grapefruit at cold storage) wasn't as pink but was oh-so-sweet. I changed the decoration but arranging my segments into a flower. It wasn't perfect and I could think of ways to improve the shape but it worked anyway. (:
Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 grapefruit
• 3/4 cup plain flour
• 3/4 tsp double acting baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp margarine/butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup milk
• 125g cream cheese
• approx. 1 cup icing sugar

METHOD

1. Grate the whole grapefruit ensuring you only grate the skin and not the pith (the bitter, white portion under the yellow skin)
2. Peel and segment the grapefruit as instructed here.
3. Choose the segments for decor and place them on kitchen towel(s) so they're not too wet later
4. Segments/pulp without membrane can be added to the cake mixture later so set those aside in a small bowl
5. Squeeze the remaining pulp/membrane etc. of all the juice through a sieve into a separate bowl
6. In a medium sized bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together
7. Cream butter & sugar in a larger bowl until light and fluffy
8. Add in the egg and beat well
9. Add the vanilla extract & 3 tbsp of grapefruit juice and mix until all incorporated
10. Add in half the dried ingredients, followed by the milk, and then the remaining dry ingredients, mixing well after each addition
11. Add about 3/4 of the grapefruit zest and any pulp saved from step 4 and mix well
12. Pour batter into a greased and floured loaf pan (8 1/2" x 4 1/2")
13. Bake cake in preheated oven of 180 degrees C for about 30-35 mins or until skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean
14. Remove from oven and leave to cool on rack
15. In a microwaveable bowl, zap the cheese quickly for about 15-20 seconds just to soften it
16. Using a whisk, cream the cheese and gradually add the powdered sugar (add sugar to taste)
17. When smooth, add in remaining grapefruit zest and juice and whisk again
18. When cake has cooled completely, remove from tin and spread on cream cheese frosting
19. Decorate as desired

Yay!!!