Gluten Free Grapefruit Cake with Grapefruit Curd

Calling all citrus lovers with this Gluten Free Grapefruit Cake with Grapefruit Curd and Citrus Buttercream! This cake takes citrus to a whole new level with grapefruit buttercream and fresh grapefruit curd. You’ll never view grapefruits the same way ever again!

ME BEFORE THE RECIPE…

We have two plants out front. I forget to water them All. The. Time. One is dying and the other is thriving. Funny how plants can have such different needs.

To be clear, the one that is thriving is a cactus, so my unintentional disregard actually helps it grow. I almost killed it at first because I watered it too much, but now we’ve reached a happy compromise, me and that cactus. If a pet could be that easy, I may consider getting a dog. For now, stuffed animals and imaginations will do.

When I walked in the door from my run this morning, it all the sudden hit me. Those two plants on our front porch are perfect representations of my husband and me. The plant that is dying due to my lack of care is just like Ben. They demand constant attention otherwise they will shrivel up and die. Hey, I’m not throwing Ben under the bus here. He fully admits that he thrives off of verbal validations and commendations. It’s just his nature.

Too bad Ben grew up his entire life with his mom praising his name and now he is married to a wife whose favorite phrase for every completed chore is, “So what? You wanna cookie???”

I’m cringing as I write this because I am realizing just how cruel and loveless a wife I can be. Why does he even put up with me? I’ll never know. Maybe my January challenge this year should have been to add a little sugar to our marriage rather than take sugar away from my diet. I’ll reconsider next year.

But that cactus? That cactus and I are on the same wavelength. Leave us alone and we flourish. Get too close and you risk the wrath of our thorns. We like our space. We don’t need any undue attention and can manage perfectly on our own. We stay the same and rarely change. And lastly, we stand tall and proud even when our circumstances/environment may seem bleak and barren.

Well didn’t that last sentence sound depressing??? Okay, I didn’t mean that my circumstances are barren, but I just mean that I can typically make the best of whatever situation I’m in. No matter where we move, I’ll find ways to be busy and happy. There ain’t no point in being all depressed and crying over something you can’t change. Am I right?!

Although I did cry for a few pathetic minutes over being cut at the very end of the audition process (FIVE months long!!!) from a cooking show that I was almost positive I was going to make. But then I wiped my tears, put on my big girl stretchy pants, and ran 15 miles to drown out the sorrow. So there. I’m over it.

Besides the “Ben” and “Brielle” (as I will now call them) plants we have out front, we have another pretty cool plant out back. It’s a grapefruit tree and it’s the only food I’ve ever successfully grown. Except for I didn’t plant it, I never water it, and I send Ben and the girls out to pick the fruits of my non-labor. It’s the greatest tree ever!!!

Seriously, this grapefruit tree is awesome. Why can’t I plant a garden like that? I just want to ignore all the fruits and veggies and have them turn around and produce mounds and mounds of food for me. Is that such wishful thinking?

This grapefruit tree has probably given us close to a hundred grapefruits this year. What does one do with ONE HUNDRED grapefruits?! We’ve grilled them, juiced them, eaten them for breakfast, eaten them for snacks, given them to neighbors, you name it. And still, we have more grapefruit.

HERE COMES THE RECIPE…

So as I stood and stared at the dozen grapefruits sitting on my counter last weekend, it all the sudden hit me. CAKE!!! GRAPEFRUIT CAKE!!! And not just grapefruit flavored cake, but grapefruit flavored curd and grapefruit flavored buttercream. We’re going all out citrus here.

This Gluten Free Honey Grapefruit Cake with Grapefruit Curd and Citrus Buttercream was an explosion of fresh flavor and a beauty to behold. I’m telling you, I’ll never look at a grapefruit the same way ever again. Cake will always be on my mind.

Think of a lightly honey sweetened, citrusy cake with a hint of grapefruit flavor layered with a fresh, tart grapefruit curd and then covered in a smooth and silky grapefruit buttercream. Really?! Doesn’t that sound amazing?!

All I can say is that if you like citrus cakes, like lemon cake or orange cake, you will most definitely enjoy a grapefruit cake. Even if you’re not a fan of raw grapefruit, you will like this cake. It’s hard to tell exactly what citrus it is when you taste it. You wouldn’t know it was grapefruit unless someone told you. It just tastes like…well…citrus.

BUT, if you are a grapefruit lover, you might be able to pinpoint the flavor and then you most definitely will love this cake. Hands down, no doubt about it.

My aunt and her friend were visiting this past weekend when I made this cake. They both looked at me kinda funny when I told them I made a gluten free grapefruit cake. It was obviously a foreign concept. But with my track record for baked goods, they were more than willing to try it and they both were blown away by the flavor. They kept commenting on how delicious it was. So see, people to love grapefruit cakes. They just don’t know about them. Hehe.

And lastly, if you love grapefruit, please move next door. I’m not sure I can handle another 100 grapefruits again next year. I need some more people to pawn them off on. The house down the street is for sale. And it has a pool. Just sayin’.

YOU MIGHT ALSO ENJOY…

Gluten Free Honey Grapefruit Cake

Prep time

30 mins

Cook time

28 mins

Total time

58 mins

Calling all citrus lovers with this Gluten Free Grapefruit Cake with Grapefruit Curd and Citrus Buttercream! This cake takes citrus to a whole new level with grapefruit buttercream and fresh grapefruit curd. You'll never view grapefruits the same way ever again!

Author: Brielle

Recipe type: Dessert

Serves: 12-16 servings

Ingredients

For the cake:
2 sticks butter, room temperature (12 tablespoons or ¾ cup)
1½ cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2½ cups plus 2 tablespoons high quality gluten free all-purpose flour or my preferred blend of ¾ cup white rice flour (130 g), ½ cup brown rice flour (65 g), ½ cup sweet sorghum flour (66 g), ½ cup tapioca flour (62 g), and ⅓ cup potato starch (54 g)*
½ teaspoon xanthan gum (omit if your flour blend already contains it)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
½ cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (about 1 grapefruit)
1 tablespoon grapefruit zest
For the curd:
¾ cup sugar
1 cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (about 2 grapefruits)
1 tablespoon grapefruit zest
½ teaspoon vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
6 egg yolks, beaten
5 tablespoons butter, cut into tablespoon sized chunks
For the frosting:
1 stick butter, room temperature (8 tablespoons or ½ cup)
5 cups powdered sugar, divided
¼ cup fresh squeezed grapefruit juice
dash of salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (or 2 tablespoons milk)
2-3 teaspoons grapefruit zest

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two 9" circular nonstick baking pans with cooking spray. Cut out parchment paper to line bottom of pans. Set aside.
Begin making cake. In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Scrape down sides as needed. Add eggs one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds between each addition. Add vanilla and honey and mix until smooth.
In a separate smaller mixing bowl, sift together gluten free flour (or my preferred flour blend), xanthan gum (if your blend doesn't already contain it), salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
Add ⅓ of dry ingredients into wet mixture and mix until incorporated. Add half the buttermilk to the batter and mix until smooth. Add another ⅓ of dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add remaining buttermilk and mix until smooth. Add remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined. On low speed, slowly mix in grapefruit juice and zest. Mix until combined, scraping down sides as needed. Mixture may separate slightly, but it will bake perfectly. Let batter sit for 10 minutes.
Divide batter evenly between greased cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 28-30 minutes or until golden brown and tops spring back at touch of a finger and toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out smooth with very few moist crumbs.
Remove pans from oven and set on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Run a sharp knife along edges of pans and carefully flip cakes out of pans and onto cooling rack (top side up) to continue cooling.
While cakes are cooking, begin making curd. In a medium sized saucepan, whisk together sugar, grapefruit juice, grapefruit zest, vanilla, salt, and cornstarch. Place on medium heat and stir until mixture begins to bubble and thicken. Remove from heat and slowly pour ¼ cup of hot mixture into a bowl with beaten egg yolks, while constantly whisking. Once egg mixture is smooth, slowly pour back into saucepan while constantly whisking. Return to medium low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, about 2 more minutes.
Remove curd from heat and stir in butter until completely melted. Transfer mixture to a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, making sure that the plastic touches the entire surface of the curd so a skin does not form. Chill in fridge for at least 2 hours.
Once cakes are completely cooled and curd has chilled, begin making frosting. In a large mixing bowl or a stand mixer, beat butter until pale and smooth. Add 2 cups powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Add grapefruit juice, dash of salt, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream. Beat until smooth. Add remaining powdered sugar, ½ cup at a time and beat until smooth, scraping down sides as needed. Add grapefruit zest and mix on low until smooth. Add more whipping cream if you want the frosting thinner or more powdered sugar if you want the frosting thicker.
To assemble cake, place one of the cakes on serving platter. Level out top of cake with a knife. Pipe a ¼" tall ring of frosting around the top circumference of cake, about ¼" away from edge. This will hold the curd inside. Pour about ½ the curd inside the circle of buttercream and spread evenly with knife or spatula. Place second cake on top of curd. Use remaining frosting to frost top and sides of cake. Decorate as desired.
Store leftover cake in an airtight container or covered with plastic wrap in fridge for up to 5 days or in freezer for up to 3 months. If storing in freezer, wrap with at least 3 layers of plastic wrap and then gently cover with foil. Allow cake to come to room temperature before serving.

Notes

*If using your own gluten free flour blend, lightly scoop gluten free flour into measuring cups and level off with a knife before adding to your batter.