Brighten up your Valentine’s Day celebration with this refreshing Grapefruit-Walnut Sheet Cake! It’s even frosted too!
Winter is made for citrus, is it not? Or citrus is made for winter… no matter how you put it, citrus brings warmth and energy to otherwise dull, cold, dreary days. I know a lot of people associate citrus flavors–lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit–with summer [lemonade sure helps there!] but I’ve always been in the winter=citrus camp. In junior high and high school, we sold citrus fruits in the winter to raise money for orchestra [yup, I was an orch-dork! #Violin #ThenViola]. And, how many classic books talk about children reaching into their stockings on Christmas and being THRILLED to receive an orange? Yup. Winter=citrus. So it was only fitting that my snow day baking last week involved this refreshing Grapefruit-Walnut Sheet Cake.
This cake reminds me, a little bit, of a classic lemon cake… tangy and sweet all at once, but remixed with the unique floral notes of a grapefruit so you know it’s something special! Since grapefruits have a certain degree of tartness to them, you definitely need the sugar and cinnamon in this recipe to balance out the flavors. This cake uses all of the grapefruit–zest AND juice–to make the grapefruit flavor really stand out.
At first, I wasn’t sure if this would be a good recipe to contribute as part of #FreshTastyValentines [read all about it here–and be sure to enter the giveaway!]. After all, it’s a snack cake–made in a sheet pan–and doesn’t look all that fancy. But then I realized that Ben and I don’t really do fancy. Cozy nights at home are our thing. We’ve been together for eight years, married for nearly seven of them. I’m sure once baby boy comes in May we will look forward to date nights out more than we currently do, but for now, sheet cake in the fridge [that we can snack on all week] is perfectly fine with us! Plus, grapefruit is pink soooo it’s festive enough, right? Another point that tipped the scale towards “recipe for #FreshTastyValentines” was the fact that I used one of our sponsor goodies in the making of this recipe! Duh, better include it. 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/p/BAx6fMpsCPR/KitchenIQ is one of our fabulous sponsors, and generously sent the bloggers involved in this event a Strawberry Tool [can’t wait to find some good looking strawberries to test out this strawberry slicer!!] and a wonderful Better Zester! This zester was wonderfully easy to use and was so sharp that it hardly took any effort to zest a whole grapefruit. Love it! Thanks for your support in #FreshTastyValentines, KitchenIQ! You can find Kitchen IQ on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest… and be sure to enter the giveaway by February 8, 2016 for a chance to win some of their great products. 🙂 I hope you win so you can make this festive grapefruit-walnut snack cake! The grapefruit cream cheese frosting is NOT to be missed. Enjoy!
one year ago: Caesar Salad with Fried Chickpeas
two years ago: Chili Relleno Casserole
three years ago: Baked Jalapeno Popper-Ranch Dip
four years ago: Fried Eggs on Pesto Parmesan Toast
five years ago: Mini Meatloaf
Grapefruit-Walnut Sheet Cake
from a magazine… I think Southern Living 🙂
Ingredients:
for cake
- 1 Ruby Red grapefruit – zest and juice, divided
- 1 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
for grapefruit cream cheese frosting
- 1 – 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened [I used the 1/3 less fat variety – Neufchâtel]
- 4 tablespoons butter, softened
- reserved grapefruit zest and juice [from cake, above]
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 12-16 ounces powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Begin by zesting and juicing the grapefruit. You’ll need 3 tablespoons zest [this was about 3/4 of the grapefruit zested for me] and 10 tablespoons of juice [the whole grapefruit–I was actually a wee bit short so I added about a teaspoon or two of water and zested the whole grapefruit to make up for it].
In a small bowl, stir together 8 tablespoons of the grapefruit juice with the melted butter and 1/2 cup water. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add butter mixture, 2 tablespoons zest, walnuts, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Stir until just combined. Pour into prepared pan, then bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. [Original recipe suggested 20-25 minutes bake time; mine took a full 30.]
Cool completely before frosting, at least 1 hour.
When ready to frost, beat cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until creamy. Add vanilla, 1 tablespoon zest, and 2 tablespoons juice and beat for 30 seconds to blend. Gradually add powdered sugar until desired consistency is reached, beating on low until blended. Frost cooled cake and enjoy! Store covered in the refrigerator.
Be sure to check out all of the other recipes that are part of #FreshTastyValentines today at the linky below! 🙂
Disclosure: I received a complimentary Better Zester! and Strawberry Tool from Kitchen IQ for my participation in #FreshTastyValentines. However, I was not required to write a positive review and I was not otherwise compensated for this post. The thoughts expressed above are entirely my own. Thanks to KitchenIQ for their sponsorship of this event!
I love grapefruit anything, so this cake is right up my alley!
Sues
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thanks sues!
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I love grapefruit. I can’t wait to try this.”Orch-dork”? You crack me up. Me, too…I was 2nd chair flute in our orchestra. Thanks for joining the #FreshTastyValentines fun.
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yes, that’s what we called ourselves! at my school, orchestra was just string instruments. flute would have been part of the band. 🙂 i think in recent years the band and orchestra have combined in a few instances though! 🙂 thanks for organizing this event!
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Sharing this with my MiL as soon as possible. She tried to make grapefruit bars (after lemon bars) with her harvest of grapefruits. She was less than impressed. I know she will love these, though.
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lemon bars (and any of their counterparts) are always very hit or miss, i think! hope she loves this cake 🙂
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This cake sounds so bright and flavorful. Don’t you just LOVE that zester?!
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thanks, wendy!
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I love grapefruit – it was one of the things I craved a little while pregnant! – and this cake sounds delicious.
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funny! so far i haven’t craved anything. 🙂 thanks caroline!
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What a lovely use for grapefruit! Sure to banish the winter blahs!
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for sure! thank you, carrie!
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I think this just might be the recipe that determines whether or not I like grapefruit. Combined with cream cheese, I’m sure I’d love it.
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thanks, nichole! i bet you’ll love it. i just had a grapefruit for breakfast today and wished i had some cake to go along with it–hahaha!
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What a unique flavor combo! I bet I’d love this!
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it is delicious! thank you, sarah!
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Perfect time of year for grapefruit and one of my favorite things! This looks wonderful!
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thanks, ashley!
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While I am not normally a fan of grapefruit on it’s own. I think I could totally be down with this cake!
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thanks erin!
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I love anything grapefruit, so adore this cake recipe! YUM!
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thank you! 🙂
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I love this idea! And winter is a great time for citrus. As is summer. Really, citrus all the time! Grapefruit is my least favorite variety, but this cake might change my mind.
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i’m pretty much a fruit person year round so citrus, apples, berries, anything really appeals to me! 🙂 thanks!
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I’m such a sucker for grapefruit. I’ve never had it in cake, though. Looks delicious.
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this was one of the first times i had baked with it. so good!!
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