Little Foodies: Grapefruit Cornmeal Cake

The Foodies' KitchenOctober 28, 2018

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When you think of Halloween you think about chocolates, candies, and very sweet desserts. We love to make those, as we have in the past with recipes like our Monster Popcorn Balls, Candy Corn Cookies or Candy Apples. But we also like to make less sugary treats such as our Eyeball Jello which is made with light gelatin and lychee fruit.

This year we tried out this cornmeal grapefruit cake, which can also be made with any other citrus juice, or mixture of citrus juices. The added cornmeal gives it a different texture, which we loved. We tweaked the original recipe a bit, by decreasing the amount of butter and sugar in equal parts, it seemed like a lot of butter and sugar to add to a cake, and we made a little research and compared with similar recipes.

The flavor of the cake with its grapefruit juice is tangy, so the icing on top makes it perfectly balanced. We used extra poppy seeds to give it more of a Halloween vibe, and enjoyed it as a dessert to have over coffee in the afternoon. We recommend that you add the glaze when the cake is still slightly warm, so it covers the top evenly.

Helga

Grapefruit Cornmeal Cake

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine
Yields: 8-10 servings

Ingredients, for the cake:
1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for greasing
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup medium-grind cornmeal
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated grapefruit zest plus ¼ cup fresh grapefruit juice

Ingredients, for the glaze:
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
¼ cup poppy seeds
¼ cup fresh grapefruit juice

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch cake pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper and butter the paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the cornmeal, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.
In another medium bowl, whisk the melted butter with the eggs, grapefruit zest and grapefruit juice.
While whisking constantly, add the butter mixture to the flour mixture in a slow, steady stream. Whisk until well blended.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Transfer the cake to a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Run a sharp paring knife around the edge of the cake, then invert it onto the rack. Peel off the parchment paper. Carefully flip the cake right side up and set the rack over a baking sheet. Let cool until warm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a medium bowl, mix the confectioners’ sugar and poppy seeds. While whisking constantly, slowly drizzle in the grapefruit juice until a smooth, thick glaze forms. Pour the glaze all over the top of the warm cake and spread evenly over the top and side. Let stand until set, about 30 minutes.

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