Grapefruit Cake #Recipe - Secret Recipe Club

I was lucky to see a Secret Recipe Club post back in June, I was immediately interested and signed up to join the fun in July. Organized by Amanda, the blogger behind Amanda’s Cookin‘, food bloggers can sign up to be assigned a blog from the list to visit, try out and then blog about. This is a great way to find new recipes and other great blogs.

This is my first month with the Secret Recipe Club, and I was given Big Fat Baker's blog to secretly peruse and bake from. Once I saw her Grapefruit Cake with tangy Grapefruit Frosting, I knew I had a winner!

I love citrus, but have never heard of a making a cake from grapefruit. This recipe has three parts... the cake, a Grapefruit curd and topped with a Grapefruit buttercream. Yes, grapefruit is definitely the star.

Start by making the cake...

You Will Need:

2/3 c. butter, softened

1 3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. grapefruit zest

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

3 c. cake flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 c. fresh grapefruit juice

3/4 c. whole milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the cake pans. I am loving Wilton's cake release for this.

Cream the butter and sugar in your stand mixer. Then add the eggs, 1 at a time till fully incorporated. Stir in the zest and vanilla.

In a seperate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Alternate adding this to the mixer and the grapefruit juice. Start and end with the flour mixture. Then stir in the milk. Pour into your prepared cake pans. The original recipe called for 3 pans, but I only had 2. Just adjust your time accordingly.

Bake for 20-30 minutes and test the centers with a toothpick. It will come out clean when done. Cool the cakes completely on a rack. I like to bake the night before I assemble a cake.

Then I made the Grapefruit curd. Oh, my goodness! It is so tasty on it's own.

You Will Need:

8 large egg yolks

1/2 c. freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

1/2 c. lemon juice + 2 Tbsp.

1 grapefruit zested

1 c. sugar

1/8 tsp. salt

1 1/4 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces.

Combine the egg yolks, juice, half the zest and sugar in a saucepan. Whisk and turn on medium heat stirring constantly. Do not boil the mixture. It should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.

Remove from the heat and stir in the butter, one cube at a time. This is a crucial step. Add the butter too quickly and the mixture can break. So, for the first few cubes, go slowly. Take your time. Stir until smooth and store this in the refrigerator.

Okay, now you have the cake and the filling... it is time to dress it up with some buttercream.I added the butter flavoring, meringue powder for stiffness and water to reach a good medium consistency for easy icing.

For the buttercream,

You Will Need:

1  1/2 c. of grapefruit juice

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp. butter flavoring

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbsp. meringue powder

2 c. powdered sugar

* 1-2 tsp. water for the right consistency

1 Tbsp. meringue powder

First reduce the grapefruit juice by half to a thick syrup over medium heat. Allow this to come to room temperature before continuing with the recipe.

Beat the butter, then add in other ingredients, except the grapefruit syrup. Slowly pour in the syrup to taste. I used it all, but it ended up a little salty. Next time I will only use half.

Now you can assemble this work of grapefruit art. Level the cakes and then pipe a dam of buttercream around the edge of the first layer. I used the Wilton tip 12 and a pastry bag. Then I filled the center with the grapefruit curd. Top with the other cake and then frost it.

Oh, yum. The cake was moist... the curd was tangy and flavorful. The overall experience was grapefruit, but it was not overpowering. I was truly in grapefruit bliss!!! I have a big thank you to give to Big Fat Baker, this is now on a very short list of my favorite cakes.

If you want to join in on the fun next month, sign up for the Secret Recipe Club: http://www.amandascookin.com/p/secret-recipe-club.html

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