2 | 52 Grapefruit Pound Cake

After the holidays is before the celebration.

That's what it always feels like when my grandma's birthday is coming up on January 4th, so shortly after Christmas and New Year's.

This year I wanted to bake something that could easily be offered to visitors (no cutting, no plates, no mess) so I looked for a cake that could be baked in those cute little paper mini loaf pans.

When I ask my grandma what kind of cake she likes, she always says that she doesn't care as long as it involves a fruity flavor and is not dry.

Browsing Pinterest, this is what I decided on:

2 | 52 Grapefruit Pound Cake

From Cooking Light Magazine (Jan 2012) via Taking On Magazines

250 g (2 cups) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

335 g sugar (1 2/3 cups) sugar

85 g (6 tablespoons) butter, softened

170 g (6 ounces) cream cheese (reduced fat)

2 large eggs

60 ml (1/4 cup) canola oil

2 tablespoons grapefruit peel, grated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

180 ml (1/2 cup) milk

180 ml (1/2 cup) fresh grapefruit juice

160 g (1 1/4 cups) powdered sugar

• Preheat oven to 170°C (325°F).
• Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. 
• Mix sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in oil, grapefruit peel, and vanilla.
• Alternatingly, add flour mixture and milk to batter. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 70 minutes or until wooden pick comes out clean. Let cool.
• Bring grapefruit juice to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons. Cool slightly and stir in powdered sugar. Drizzle over cake.

My modifications:

I don't have canola oil at home so I used olive oil instead. I've done it before in other cake recipes and it has never been problematic flavor-wise.

I didn't cook the frosting but mixed it as always: powdered sugar in cold liquid. Worked well and still had a good flavor.

The taste:

I really loved how moist this cake was! And the flavor in general was very good. BUT.

The problem - I think - was the grapefruit peel. It tasted so unbelievably bitter that the cake had a sharp taste that almost burned my mouth. I kid you not. And it definitely wasn't in the frosting with just the juice but in the batter.

Additionally, while it tasted nice and citrusy, you couldn't taste that it was grapefruit. So next time I will just make it with orange, lemon or lime. I've never had these peel problems with those citrus fruit.

What's your grandma's favorite cake?

34*52 Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Sometimes life really doesn't have to be complicated.

No wait - sometimes it really shouldn't be complicated. You know what I mean?

So right now is the time for uncomplicated. And this recipe sounded like it would fit.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Adapted from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott via Orangette

420 g (3 cups) flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

226 g (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature

226 g (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature

420 g (2 1/2 cups) sugar

6 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F).
• Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
• Beat butter and cream cheese until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and continue to beat for about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla.
• On low speed, add the flour mix in three batches, beating only until flour is just blended.
• Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.
• Bake for 55-60 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack before removing from the pan.

My modifications:

None, except for the amount of sugar. The original recipe calls for 600 g (3 cups) of sugar. Wow! To me that just sounds like waaaaay too much. So I reduced it to 2 1/2 cups which should be 500 g according to conversion charts but actually only was 420 g on my kitchen scale. 

The taste:

Like the recipe reads - uncomplicated (in a good way). Very moist and spongy but still way too sweet. And I am a sweet person (and I'm talking about taste here...). So if I make this again, I will probably reduce the sugar to 1 1/2 cups.

What's your most uncomplicated cake recipe?