Home » Recipe Index » Recipe

Grapefruit Pound Cake

Isn’t the old saying “When life hands you grapefruits and the one person who loves grapefruit can’t eat them make Pound Cake?” Or it’s something like that right?

Fresh Grapefruit Pound Cake with Icing Drizzling down the sides

I purchased a CASE of grapefruit and a CASE of oranges for Christmas giving. Except they came in January. And now we have so much citrus in our house. SO MUCH.

Now normally grapefruit is something my husband loves, but right after I ordered and paid for the CASE of grapefruit he started taking medication that means he can’t enjoy is favorite fruit.

A Note About Using the KitchenAid Mixer and the Paddle Attachment-DO NOT IGNORE THIS

If you’re using a KitchenAid Mixer with the ALUMINUM Paddle, do not use the paddle once you’ve added the grapefruit zest and the juice. The acidity of the grapefruit and the aluminum paddle will make the most AWFUL taste in your bread. Like the flavor of real lemonade made and served in an aluminum pitcher, the flavor is OFF.

If you plan to use the KitchenAid, the use a non-aluminum paddle or beat in the eggs with the mixer, THEN take the bowl off the mixer, add the zest by hand, and finish mixing the pound cake by hand. No nasty weird chemical taste.

a slice of iced grapefruit pound cake

What To Do With a Case of Grapefruit

Now everyone WILL eat one or two but that leaves an awful lot of grapefruit to use up. I started thinking about how I would use these up before they went bad and I need more ideas. So if you have any ideas about what to do with a case of grapefruit, please leave me a note.

fresh grapefruit cakes without icing

So far we’ve made:

  • fresh juice, which is really wonderful
  • Grapefruit Curd (also really wonderful!)
  • eating like an orange–not THAT wonderful but we power through
  • slicing and eating with sugar
  • and I’ve zested each grapefruit before we make juice so I have little bags of zest in the freezer just waiting for their day!
grapefruit zest

And now Grapefruit Pound Cake

I had to do it! This is Ina Garten’s Pound Cake Recipe but made with grapefruit. And Grapefruit Pound Cake is like taking a refreshing bite of grapefruit in the form of cake.

Sweet and sour at the same time. Not overly sweet, just barely sweet enough. And then at the end of the slight bitterness of grapefruit comes through. I was surprised at how much it really tastes like grapefruit.

How to eat Grapefruit Pound Cake

Slice and eat! Or layer fruit on top of it. Put berries on it. Add a squirt of whipped cream. Leave it un-iced and put it in a trifle. Don’t eat it, make it and send it to friends for Christmas or put it on a Christmas platter for the office.

But honestly, the best way to eat a pound cake is, however, you’re eating pound cake. AMIRIGHT?

Don’t have Grapefruit for Grapefruit Pound Cake?

Make my Orange Pound Cake recipe, it’s fabulous and fresh tasting.

Two perfect Slices of Orange Pound Cake

Or if you happen to have to a lot of limes you don’t know what to do with, make my Lime Pound Cake. You’ll never go wrong with either of these recipes!

Lime Pound Cake
Yield: 16 slices

Grapefruit Pound Cake

Grapefruit Pound Cake

When life hands you grapefruit make a pound cake! Please note you should NOT mix this cake with aluminum tools, it can come out tasting weird. It's some sort of reaction with the aluminum and the extreme tang of the grapefruit juice.

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Additional Time 6 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 6 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 grapefruit
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 3/4 cup buttermilk 
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

  1. preheat the oven to 350˚ and grease 8-inch loaf pans
  2. in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down the bowl halfway through
  3. wash and zest the grapefruits, then juice the grapefruits
  4. when the sugar is fluffy, add the eggs one at a time, beating afterward each addition
  5. if you have an aluminum paddle on your mixer, take the bowl off and proceed by hand, if you have stainless steel OR a paddle with a spatula you can use the mixer to finish the pound cake
  6. stir the zest in the eggs with a wooden spoon
  7. in a smaller bowl mix the flour, baking soda, and baking powder together
  8. mix the buttermilk and 1/4 of a cup of grapefruit juice
  9. add 1/4 of the flour mix to the mixing bowl, follow it with 1/3 of the buttermilk mixture, repeat beginning and ending with the flour, stirring well after each addition
  10. divide evenly between loaf pans
  11. bake at 350˚ 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out cleanly
  12. let the loaves cool on a wire rack
  13. when they're cool mix the two cups of powdered sugar with 2-3 Tablespoons of the leftover grapefruit juice for a glaze, start with the smallest amount adding small amounts until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle and thick enough to cling
  14. pour on the loaves and let it set up
  15. slice and serve

Notes

•If you're using a KitchenAid Mixer with the ALUMINUM Paddle, do not use the paddle once you've added the grapefruit zest and the juice. The acidity of the grapefruit and the aluminum paddle will make the most AWFUL taste in your bread. Like the flavor of real lemonade made and served in an aluminum pitcher, the flavor is OFF

•If you plan to use the KitchenAid, the use a non-aluminum paddle or beat in the eggs with the mixer, THEN take the bowl off the mixer, add the zest by hand, and finish mixing the pound cake by hand. No nasty weird chemical taste.

Recommended Products

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Nutrition Information

Yield

16

Serving Size

1

Amount Per Serving Calories 373Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 77mgSodium 186mgCarbohydrates 61gFiber 1gSugar 41gProtein 5g

This nutrition information was calculated using a computer program, results may vary.

Would you pin this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

laura sampson

About Laura

Laura is on a mission to teach modern family oriented women how to make old-fashioned foods new again. A wife and mom of 3 boys, Laura understands the struggles of trying to serve a home-cooked meal each night. She provides recipes and cooking hacks for busy moms to create dishes they may think take more time or skill than they have to make. Read more...

2 thoughts on “Grapefruit Pound Cake”

Leave a Comment

Skip to Recipe