In nature, everything is in balance. Everything is surprisingly well thought out and at the very moment when our body most of all needs a portion of vitamins, oranges ripen in warm countries. Different varieties ripen at different times, and depending on the area, they are harvested from late autumn to early spring. Let’s add not only vitamins but also bright colours to your winter menu. But most of all, I love this cake for its optimistic-bright looks, that brighten up the grey winter days.
In nature, everything is in balance. Everything is surprisingly well thought out and at the very moment when our body most of all needs a portion of vitamins, oranges ripen in warm countries. Different varieties ripen at different times, and depending on the area, they are harvested from late autumn to early spring. Let’s add not only vitamins but also bright colours to your winter menu. But most of all, I love this cake for its optimistic-bright looks, that brighten up the grey winter days.- Prep time: 40 minutes + 30 minutes’ chilling
- Cook time: 1 hour
- Serves: 6-8
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: pastry
- Cookware: rectangular baking dish 20×30 cm, baking tray with rack, silicone spatula, KitchenAid stand mixer
- Cuisine: British
Ingredients
For glazed grapefruits:
- 3 grapefruits, pink, red, and white
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp grapefruit juice
- 240 g icing sugar
For the sponge:
- 560 g flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 360 g butter, room temperature
- 360 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp grapefruit zest
- 240 ml buttermilk
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
- butter for greasing
Cooking method
Step 1
Heat the oven to 160˚С. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until white. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add zest, buttermilk, and vanilla. Bring the mixture to an even consistency. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, and beat until smooth batter. Butter a baking dish. Pour the batter into a baking dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Remove the sponge from the oven and let cool in a baking dish.
Step 2
Turn on the grill in the oven. Peel grapefruits. Cut into circles about 1 cm wide. Cover the bottom of the baking tray with foil, put on top the grapefruits on the wire rack in one layer and sprinkle with sugar. Grill grapefruits until caramelized. Remove grapefruits from the oven and leave to cool on the wire rack.
Step 3
Top the cooled cake with caramelized grapefruits. Pour icing sugar into a high narrow container, add grapefruit juice, and beat with a mixer until smooth. Drizzle glaze generously over the cake. Leave the cake to set for about 30 minutes before serving.
My tips and tricks:
Most likely you know that the main bitterness of grapefruit is in the membranes separating the slices. You can easily and quickly get rid of most of them by following my advice on how to peel grapefruit. Cut off the top and bottom of the grapefruit until pith, so that it can be easily placed on a cutting board. Peel the grapefruit with a sharp knife, cutting off the peel along with the pith from top to bottom. Now you can slice it. Take different colours grapefruits for the cake: yellow, pink, and red. It will be juicy and colourful.
Alexander Skokov’s wine recommendations:
A delicious cake is always a holiday. And for the holiday it is always good to open a bottle of semi-sweet Muscat sparkling wine. Well chilled, SHABO Special Edition adds peach and nutmeg notes to the multi-coloured grapefruit. The pleasant sourness of sparkling wine harmonizes the sweetness of the cake.
- For glazed grapefruits:
- 3 grapefruits, pink, red, and white
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp grapefruit juice
- 240 g icing sugar
- For the sponge:
- 560 g flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 360 g butter, room temperature
- 360 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tbsp grapefruit zest
- 240 ml buttermilk
- seeds of 1 vanilla bean or 1 tsp vanilla paste
- butter for greasing
- Heat the oven to 160˚С. In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, and using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until white. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then add zest, buttermilk, and vanilla. Bring the mixture to an even consistency. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add the flour mixture, and beat until smooth batter. Butter a baking dish. Pour the batter into a baking dish. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Remove the sponge from the oven and let cool in a baking dish.
- Turn on the grill in the oven. Peel grapefruits. Cut into circles about 1 cm wide. Cover the bottom of the baking tray with foil, put on top the grapefruits on the wire rack in one layer and sprinkle with sugar. Grill grapefruits until caramelized. Remove grapefruits from the oven and leave to cool on the wire rack.
- Top the cooled cake with caramelized grapefruits. Pour icing sugar into a high narrow container, add grapefruit juice, and beat with a mixer until smooth. Drizzle glaze generously over the cake. Leave the cake to set for about 30 minutes before serving.