Grapefruit Cake

I have always loved grapefruit, but this winter, I've become seriously obsessed. I've been eating a grapefruit a day (will that keep the doctor away?) My grandma used to send our family a grapefruit and orange basket each winter when I was younger. Those Florida oranges and grapefruits are so delicious! They are also so expensive though- I thought about ordering one for myself but it came out to about $3.50 per grapefruit! Instead I bought a 5lb bag of red grapefruit at the supermarket for like $3. The quality isn't as good (the grapefruit are pretty small) but they still taste delicious to me! I've made this cake a few other times before. It's from the Ad Hoc cookbook. I halved the recipe because the original recipe made two loaf pans and I didn't think I needed that much cake. This is one of the few things I bake that my mom just loves and requests more of! She doesn't have a big sweet tooth, which is why she doesn't normally eat the things I bake, but she loves this cake, which isn't too sweet.

This cake also gave me the opportunity to use the awesome Christmas gift my sisters got me- these florist measuring cups from Anthropologie! They are so adorable!

Here's the recipe:
(Slightly adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc At Home cookbook)

Cake:

2 cups flour

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp kosher salt

1 2/3 c sugar

2 eggs

1 cup whole milk

3/4 cup canola oil (I used vegetable oil)

1 tbls grated pink grapefruit zest

1 tsp vanilla

 

Grapefruit Syrup:

 

1 cup strained fresh pink grapefruit juice

2/3 cup sugar

 

Grapefruit Icing:

 

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tbls + 1 tsp fresh pink grapefruit juice.

 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 10 by 4 inch loaf pan with nonstick spray.

 

Sift flour and baking powder and stir in the salt.

 

Combine sugar and eggs in stand mixer with whisk attachment and beat at medium speed for about 3 minutes until whisk leaves a trail. Beat in the milk, then the oil. grapefruit zest, and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate.

 

Spread batter in pan. Bake 30 minutes, turn pan around so cake will color evenly and bake another 30 minutes.

 

Combine grapefruit juice and sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve sugar and simmer for 1 minute.

 

As soon as you remove cake from oven, use knife to poke holes in it and immediately pour in grapefruit syrup. Let cake cool for 10 minutes then unmold. Cool completely. Stir powdered sugar and grapefruit juice together in a bowl and drizzle over the top of the cake.