Grapefruit Cake Loaf With Rosemary
Grapefruit cake is a delicious olive oil cake that’s moist, easy to make, and is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The zesty grapefruit glaze really helps the grapefruit flavor shine. This recipe is dairy free with a gluten free option.
Looking for more grapefruit recipes? Try my grapefruit paloma mocktail, 2 ingredient grapefruit simple syrup, or strawberry grapefruit popsicles.
What You’ll Love About This Recipe
Ingredients
Here’s what I used to make this grapefruit yogurt cake:
- All Purpose Flour
- Leavening agents – baking powder and baking soda.
- Kosher salt – helps to balance the sweetness.
- Organic cane sugar – my favorite type of sweetener to use. It’s not as processed as other granulated sugars, isn’t sickly sweet, and dissolves well. However, you can also use white sugar if it’s what you have on hand.
- Olive oil – adds plenty of moisture into the cake.
- Large eggs
- Unsweetened plain dairy free yogurt – a thick greek-style yogurt is best.
- Vanilla extract
- Grapefruit zest and fresh grapefruit juice – from either a ruby red grapefruit or pink grapefruit.
- Fresh rosemary – pairs beautifully with the grapefruit.
- Grapefruit glaze – powdered sugar, grapefruit zest, fresh grapefruit juice.
How to Make Grapefruit Cake: Step By Step
Here are some quick visual instructions. The full instructions and ingredient list will be in the printable recipe card below!
- Prep pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F/175ºC. Grease a 9×5 or 8×4 loaf pan with oil or a nonstick baking spray. Alternatively you can line it with parchment paper with some overhang.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
- “Cream” together the egg and oil. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and olive oil using a whisk until well combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. Whisk the room temperature eggs into the sugar and oil mixture until smooth then mix in unsweetened yogurt, vanilla extract, grapefruit zest, and grapefruit juice. Mix in 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary.
- Fold the wet into the dry. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold them together using a silicone spatula until just combined, don’t over mix the batter.
- Transfer to a loaf pan and bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-48 minutes (check after 45) or when a toothpick/the tip of a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the loaf from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, grapefruit zest, and grapefruit juice. Thin with a little more grapefruit juice if needed. When the loaf is nearly cool, drizzle it on top of the bread, slice and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- For the best flavor, use fresh rosemary, not dried.
- Since we’re ingesting the zest from the peel, I recommend using organic grapefruit if possible. If not, wash it well, dry, then zest it. You’ll only need 1 grapefruit since they’re large. Any variety is great.
- Use a 9×5 or 8×4 loaf pan. Either one will work. Because an 8×4 pan is slightly smaller, your loaf will inevitably be a little taller, but that’s the only difference.
- A microplane zester works best for removing the zest.
Quick Tip: Zest the grapefruit completely before you cut it. This will give you enough for the glaze too. Otherwise, it’s hard to zest fruit once it’s been cut into.
Storage
Fridge: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.
Freezer: Wrap the loaf with parchment paper or plastic wrap then tin foil, and place it in a freezer bag or airtight container. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating: If frozen, thaw overnight in the fridge. Gently reheat in the microwave or toaster oven until warmed through.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this grapefruit cake recipe using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- Make it gluten free – Use gluten-free 1:1 flour (either Bob’s Red Mill or King Arthur) in place of the all-purpose flour. If using a different brand, make sure it contains xanthan gum for the best results.
- No organic cane sugar? – use white granulated sugar.
- Not dairy free? – use plain Greek yogurt or sour cream.
- Add ins – crushed toasted nuts on top after you add the glaze such as pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts or walnuts, garnish with thin grapefruit slices or grapefruit segments.
Variations
- Lime – use a combination of lime zest and juice along with grapefruit zest and juice.
- Orange – use a combination of orange zest and juice along with grapefruit zest and juice.
- Lemon – use a combination of lemon zest and juice along with grapefruit zest and juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make this grapefruit cake loaf in the bowl of a stand mixer?
You can, but you don’t need to. If you decide to go that route, you’ll need both the whisk attachment and the paddle attachment. Just make sure you don’t over mix the batter so the cake stays nice and fluffy.
More Cake Loaf Recipes
- Raspberry Lemon Loaf
- Carrot Cake Loaf With Citrus Glaze
- Pumpkin Olive Oil Loaf Cake
- Blackberry Lemon Bread
I hope you love this Grapefruit Cake! If you make this recipe, please leave a comment & a star rating below. Thank you!
Grapefruit Cake Loaf With Rosemary
Grapefruit cake is a delicious olive oil cake that's moist, easy to make, and is the perfect balance of sweet and tart. The zesty grapefruit glaze really helps the grapefruit flavor shine. This recipe is dairy free with a gluten free option.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour or GF flour if needed, see notes below
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt reduce to ¼ teaspoon if using any other kind
- ¾ cup organic cane sugar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup plain unsweetened dairy free yogurt I used Cocojune
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
Grapefruit Glaze
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons grapefruit zest
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed grapefruit juice plus more if needed to thin
Instructions
- Prep pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F/175ºC. Grease a 9×5 or 8×4 loaf pan with oil or a nonstick baking spray. Alternatively you can line it with parchment paper with some overhang.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Set aside.
- “Cream” together the egg and oil. In a medium bowl, cream together the sugar and olive oil using a whisk until well combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. Whisk the room temperature eggs into the sugar and oil mixture until smooth then mix in unsweetened yogurt, vanilla extract, grapefruit zest, and grapefruit juice. Mix in 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary.
- Fold the wet into the dry. Pour the wet ingredients into the flour mixture and fold them together using a silicone spatula until just combined, don't over mix the batter.
- Transfer to a loaf pan and bake. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 45-48 minutes (check after 45) or when a toothpick/the tip of a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool. Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the loaf from the pan and transfer it to a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
- Glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, grapefruit zest, and grapefruit juice. Thin with a little more grapefruit juice if needed. When the loaf is nearly cool, drizzle it on top of the bread, slice and enjoy!
Notes
See the blog post for step-by-step photos, helpful tips, storage, and recipe FAQs.