Pink Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

This pretty cake tastes just as good as it looks. The pink grapefruit flavour is introduced to the cake in several ways – the cake itself contains the zest of the grapefruit; after baking the cake is soaked with a grapefruit syrup, and later it is topped with a grapefruit glaze. The yogurt helps to make the cake moist, and the result is absolutely delicious!

I found this recipe on two peas and their pod blog. I made a very similar recipe a few years ago, called grapefruit olive oil pound cake. Both are amazing, but I prefer using olive oil. The round cake pan used in this recipe looks more special than the loaf pan in my previous recipe, plus the baking time in this one is shorter.

What you need:

• 3/4 cup plain yogurt (here’s a recipe for homemade yogurt)
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• zest of 1 & 1/2 large pink grapefruits
• 3 large eggs
• 1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/3 cup canola oil

For the grapefruit syrup:

• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
• 2 T granulated sugar

For the grapefruit glaze:

• 1/3 cup powdered sugar
• 2-3 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

What you do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray, and then dust it lightly with flour.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. Zest the grapefruit peel into a large bowl and add the sugar. Rub the sugar and zest together with your fingers until it is fragrant.
4. Mix the yogurt into the sugar and zest using a spatula. Whisk in the eggs, mixing until smooth, and then stir in the vanilla.
5. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients mixing just until the flour is incorporated.
6. Mix in the oil.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Test by inserting a toothpick to see if the cake is done. The cake should  spring back when you touch it lightly in the centre.
8. Cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes before removing the cake from the pan.
9. While the cake cools, make the syrup and glaze. To make the syrup, place the grapefruit juice and sugar in a small pot; heat until the sugar dissolves. While the cake is still warm, after it has been removed from the pan, you can poke holes all over the top of the cake with a toothpick. Spoon the syrup over the cake.
10. To make the glaze, in a medium bowl, sift the powdered sugar. Add the grapefruit juice and mix until smooth. Add more sugar or juice to achieve the right consistency. When the cake has cooled to room temperature drizzle the glaze all over the top of the cake.

Enjoy!