Try our pink Grapefruit Cake recipe for a burst of bright citrus flavour! This upside-down cake is super moist thanks to sour cream and olive oil, which also goes great with the slight bitterness of grapefruit. You can make it with either tinned fruit or fresh grapefruit, so it's perfect for any time of year. Give it a go and enjoy this tasty treat!
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Grapefruit Cake: A Must-Try Twist on Upside Down Cake
This fluffy cake is simple enough for everyday treat, but also brilliant for get-togethers and even fancy afternoon tea parties!
- This olive oil cake has a super moist texture and it stays that way for days!
- Furthermore, olive oil adds to the bitter grapefruit flavour in the best way imaginable.
- If you love citrus fruit desserts, this is an amazing and exciting twist.
- So easy to make using tinned fruit - you'll save tons of time not having to peel and take the grapefruit segments out of the membranes.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- caster sugar: may be replaced with white granulated sugar.
- light brown sugar: or dark brown sugar.
- eggs: large!
- sour cream: or creme fraiche, or full-fat Greek yogurt.
- olive oil: or vegetable (canola) oil.
- plain flour: also known as all-purpose flour. It can be substituted for cake flour.
- salt.
- baking powder: not to be confused with baking soda.
- grapefruit segments: we used tinned pink grapefruit (also known as ruby red grapefruit), but you can use fresh grapefruit. Just make sure to peel it and take the segments out of the internal membranes. Make sure to add a tablespoon of fresh grapefruit zest to the cake batter too! This cake works with any other tinned fruit - try our Blackcurrant Cake next!
Find the ingredient quantities, full instructions and nutritional information in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Step-By-Step Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan. Line a 24x24cm (9 in) baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
2. Add the white sugar and brown sugar into a large bowl and mix to combine.
3. Add the eggs, and using an electric mixer beat the mixture until thick and creamy on medium speed.
4. Spoon in the sour cream and beat again to incorporate. Whilst whisking, in a steady stream, pour in the oil.
5. In a separate medium bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the flour mixture into the sour cream mixture gently and set it aside.
6. If you're using tinned (canned) grapefruit segments, drain them well. If using fresh grapefruit, make sure to remove any pith and internal membranes. Arrange the segments snuggly on the base of the prepared pan in a single layer.
IMPORTANT: Tinned grapefruit segments are wet! Make sure to drain them well, then arrange them on a clean tea towel to absorb any extra moisture. This will avoid a soggy cake top!
7. Pour the cake batter over the grapefruit and bake in a preheated oven for 50-55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
8. Once baked, let the cake cool down completely before flipping it over onto a plate and unpeeling the parchment paper carefully from the base and sides of the cake.
9. Decorate the top of the cake with mint sprigs, dust with confectioners sugar and serve with yogurt, creme fraiche or ice cream.
How To Store Pink Grapefruit Cake?
One of the best features of this tinned grapefruit cake is that it stays moist and fresh for 4 days (maybe longer, but it never lasted that long in our house).
Once the cake is cooled to room temperature, store it in an airtight container, or simply well covered with plastic wrap in a cool dark cupboard.
Unfortunately, this tinned fruit cake doesn't freeze well.
Recipe Tips For Best Results
This Grapefruit Cake recipe is very easy to make, but if it's your first time making it, read through some tips below:
- Sorry if I am repeating myself, but the success of this cake lies in draining the fruit well (especially if you're using tinned grapefruit). Dab the grapefruit slices with a teatowel after draining them well to remove any excess moisture.
- If using fresh grapefruit, make sure to zest it first and add a tablespoon grapefruit zest to the sponge cake mixture.
- Make sure to line the baking tray well with parchment paper, otherwise grapefruit will stick to the tin at the base.
- If you don't have an electric hand mixer, use a balloon whisk and some serious arm strength! The cake batter can also be made in a bowl of a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
- Make a grapefruit loaf cake instead, if you wish. Use a standard 2-lb loaf pan and reduce the ingredients by a third.
What To Do With Grapefruit Juice From A Tin? Whatever you do, don't discard it! If you don't want to drink it straight up (Seb and I always fight over it...), make a grapefruit syrup, use it to make grapefruit glaze (just combine grapefruit juice and powdered sugar) or add it to Paloma or Brown Derby cocktail!
More Citrus Cakes and Sweet Bakes
What is it going to be next time? Vegan Grapefruit Cupcakes or Lemon and Poppy Seed Loaf Cake? Below, are some of our all-time favourite citrus desserts:
Grapefruit Cake With Olive Oil and Sour Cream
Ingredients
- 160 g (1¼ cups) caster sugar or white granulated sugar
- 65 g (⅓ cups) light brown sugar
- 3 eggs large
- 190 g (¾ cups) sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt
- 150 g (¾ cups) olive oil or vegetable oil
- 210 g (1⅔ +1 tbsp cups) plain flour all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1.5 teaspoon baking powder
- 450 g (1 lb) grapefruit segments drained
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C Fan. Line a 24x24cm (9 in) baking tray with a sheet of parchment paper.
- Add the white sugar and brown sugar into a large mixing bowl and mix to combine.
- Add the eggs, and using an electric handheld mixer, beat the mixture until thick and creamy.
- Add the sour cream and beat again to incorporate. Whilst whisking, in a steady stream, pour in the oil.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients gently and set it aside.
- If you're using tinned (canned) grapefruit segments, drain them well. If using fresh grapefruit, make sure to remove any pith and internal membranes. Arrange the segments snuggly on the base of the prepared baking tray in a single layer.
- Pour the cake batter over the grapefruit and bake in a preheated oven for 50-55 minutes until a wooden skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Once baked, leave the cake to cool down completely before flipping it over onto a plate and unpeeling the parchment paper. Serve with yogurt, creme fraiche or ice cream.
Nutrition
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