If you just thought about a G&T, you’re not the only one. I believe it’s quite obvious where my inspiration for this cake came from. Although this duo of flavours are confident, their appearance are subtle in this vibrant cake. She tastes like an autumn sunset.
INGREDIENTS
1 LARGE LAYERED CAKE/24-30 CUPCAKES CAKE 2 medium grapefruits 20ml fresh rosemary, finely chopped 500ml sugar 6 large eggs 250ml oil (sunflower/canola) 250ml sour cream/plain yogurt 10ml vanilla essence 750ml cake flour 5ml baking powder 5ml bicarbonate of soda 5ml salt CREAM CHEESE ICING 200g butter, room temperature 400g icing sugar, sifted 230g cream cheese 5ml vanilla essence Pinch of salt
METHOD
CAKE 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C. 2. Prepare two round cake tins (21-23cm) with baking paper and non-stick spray. Set aside. 3. Zest the grapefruits and chop the rosemary. 4. Put the sugar into a medium bowl. Rub the zest and rosemary into the sugar until evenly distributed and fragrant. 5. Add the eggs and oil to the sugar. Use an electric mixer to whisk until light, fluffy and pale in colour. 6. While whisking the above mixture, prepare the grapefruits: Cut the tops and bottoms off, then cut the skin and white flesh away from the outside of the fruit. Over a bowl, carefully cut the wedges of fruit out of the membrane, allowing the fruit and juices to fall into the bowl. Break the fruit up into smaller pieces. Set aside. 7. Add the sour cream/yogurt and vanilla to the whipped egg mixture. Mix until just combined. 8. Sift the dry ingredients over the egg mixture and combine. 9. Add the grapefruit segments and juices to the mixture. Gently mix. 10. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tins. 11. Bake for 50-60 minutes in the middle of the oven. 12. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before demoulding onto cooling racks. CREAM CHEESE ICING 1. In a medium bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer until light, fluffy and pale. This is the most time consuming step. 2. Add the icing sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until well combined and creamy. 3. Add the vanilla essence and cream cheese. Mix until just combined.
TIPS 1. If you don't have fresh rosemary, you can use HALF THE AMOUNT of dried rosemary as well. 2. To ensure even layered cakes, weigh the amount of batter you pour into each cake tin. 3. Please, do not try to take shortcuts on baking time and temperature. This cake has a wet batter and needs to bake at a lower temperature for a longer period. 4. For the icing, I played around with a bit of food colouring, but topping the cake with fresh grapefruit and rosemary will provide enough colour to produce a showstopper!