Pregnancy can be blamed for many odd food cravings. Let me clarify first, please – I am not pregnant (I’m talking to you, Mum). We are perfectly content with our two boys and are determined not to let our kids outnumber us. When I was pregnant – several years ago – I went through a period of insatiable longing for an unlikely food combination. Doritos and pink grapefruit juice. Not just Doritos, not just pink grapefruit juice. They had to be consumed in the same sitting. Thinking of that now makes me feel like a foie gras goose after its daily force-feeding.
Thankfully, pink grapefruits and I have developed a much healthier relationship and I typically get my fill of the citrus fruit at breakfast a few times each week. My youngest son and I each take half of the fruit, sprinkle it with a little sugar, and scoop out the sections. The most anticipated treat, however, is squeezing out every last drop of the juice into our bowls and spooning it into our eager mouths.
As for Doritos. Well, we have had a little falling out, mostly due to the fact that they were sabotaging my attempts to fit into my skinny jeans. Of course, eating three slices of glazed quick breads has nothing to do with those failed attempts.
This quick bread – okay, cake – follows the same formula as my Glazed Lemon & Dried Cherry Quick Bread. In this case, the lemon zest and juice are replaced with the juices and zest of pink grapefruits. While the taste is reminiscent of a lemon bread, it has a slight sweetness that clearly comes from fruit rather than just sugar. Served with a cup of tea or coffee, it works beautifully as an afternoon treat, dessert, or brunch offering.
The recipe:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 8 1/2- by 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl, using a hand mixer) set on a medium speed, beat together butter, sugar and grapefruit zest until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition.
Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture, milk and grapefruit juice. Beat until just combined. Take care not to overbeat or the bread will be tough.
Pour the batter into prepared pan and level with a spatula.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes. Let the bread sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the outside and turn the pan upside down to release the bread. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then glaze.
Glaze:
In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, grapefruit juice and zest, and salt until combined. Drizzle over cooled quick bread.
Slice and serve.
Other citrus quick breads:
Cookin’ Canuck’s Glazed Lemon & Dried Cherry Quick Bread
Madhuram’s Eggless Cooking’s Blueberry Orange Bread
Baking Bites’ Lemon Coconut Bread
Healthy Happy Life’s Lemon-Poppyseed Chamomile Tea Bread
Glazed Pink Grapefruit Quick Bread Recipe
Ingredients
The bread:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 8 tablespoons 1 stick unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons grated pink grapefruit zest
- 3 large eggs
- 1/4 cup 2% milk
- 3 teaspoons fresh pink grapefruit juice
The Glaze:
- 3/4 cup powdered confectioner's sugar
- 4 1/2 teaspoons fresh pink grapefruit juice
- 1/2 teaspoon grated pink grapefruit zest
- Pinch salt
Instructions
The Bread:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 8½- by 4½-inch loaf pan with butter or cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a large bowl, using a hand mixer) set on a medium speed, beat together butter, sugar and grapefruit zest until light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating to combine after each addition.
- Turn the mixer to low and gradually add the flour mixture, milk and grapefruit juice. Beat until just combined. Take care not to overbeat or the bread will be tough. Pour the batter into prepared pan and level with a spatula.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with only a few crumbs attached, 50 to 60 minutes. Let the bread sit in the pan for 10 minutes. Run a knife around the outside and turn the pan upside down to release the bread. Let cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then glaze.
The Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, grapefruit juice and zest, and salt until combined. Drizzle over cooled quick bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Lisa
Ok, I just have to tell you it is not just a pregnant thing… Nacho Doritos and pink grapefruit juice was my go-to study snack in college, with the addition of peanuts M&Ms to round it out.
NNChick
I made this cake yesterday. I made 2 big boo boos so I thought I ruined it. I didn’t put the flour mixture into the mixture until everything else was already beaten. (oooops) and then I messed up the glaze by putting 4 tablespoons (instead of 4 teaspoons) of grapefruit juice. Double oooooops). SO, to repair it, I “drenched” the cake in the watery glaze (no, I didn’t have any more powdered sugar to remake it)…. and since the cake was dense, the runny glaze was OUTSTANDING giving it back it’s moister. LOL The taste still was spot-on. Everyone loved it. I didn’t tell them it was a big faux pas. Thanks for the recipe.
Emma
I made this bread today. It was amazing! It is not too sweet and the grapefruit isn’t too overpowering. It is a very subtle bread. Great recipe!
MB2C
Where I live in the coastal Deep South, grapefruits come in at the holidays, and there are hundreds of them everywhere. We couldn’t eat them all, everyone has their own so you can’t really give them away, so I started making marmalade…but there is a limit to all that cooking and it’s not a universal favorite. Beautiful fruit was still going to waste.
Then I found this bread recipe, and it has been a total hit the last 2 years! I bake loaves for family get togethers and as work gifts. I freeze them for later in the “winter”. It’s like eating sunshine. Thanks so much!
Renee Hong
Wow. Let me say just how amazing this is! I love anything citrus, especially grapefruits. Since we just bought a whole bag from Costco, I thought this would be perfect to try. I used a stone bread pan, and cooked it just a few extra minutes (5 or 10). It was perfectly done all around, came right out of the pan, was deliciously moist, and the crispy edges were so good I ate all the crust! This is better than any cake, and the recipe cooks up wonderfully. Thank you so much! I wish I had made two at once!
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Yah! No more neon monkeys! (Which were interesting, but they made me sad after a while, because they were *always* there.)
Carol Wellman
I just made a loaf of this and forgot to put the glaze on, but let me tell how much I LOVE this bread. It is amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Couldn’t give it a high enough rating if I tried. Thanks for the weird cravings and awesome recipe!
Diane
I was confused by the title above your ingredients, but then realized it must be a typo…left in from the one you copied from before adapting.
It sounds delicious…I love grapefruit-flavored things. I recently found some grapefruit gummies and thoroughly enjoyed them a few at a time for a couple of months…the flavor is so uniquely refreshing. Then, more appropriate to my diet, I discovered that LaCroix is now making a grapefruit-flavored seltzer. It’s my sole “pleasure” at the moment, but your bread will get tried eventually. After I’m down a few sizes. =)
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
Thanks so much for catching that, Diane. Indeed, I copied and pasted the basic recipe from one of my other posts and forgot to change the title. Fixed now!
Rae
I finally tried this bread last night and it was wonderful! Very delicate grapefruit flavour in the bread itself and the glaze really takes it over the top. Even my grapefruit-hating husband loved it. The bread turned out very moist which is sometimes hard to accomplish living in Colorado!
Dara (Cookin' Canuck)
I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed this, Rae. Thanks for letting me know.