Healthy Grapefruit Pound Cake

Is anyone else getting up at the crack of dawn tomorrow morning to watch the royal wedding?  There aren’t too many things I’d get up early for on a Saturday morning (other than my boys’ baseball games) but I’m definitely curious so I’ll be sitting on my couch with a big cup of coffee by 6 am.  Of course, coffee accompanied with muffins or some kind of pastry is always my jam so I decided to try out this recipe for grapefruit pound cake (although I tweaked it quite a bit to make it slightly healthier….#noguilt).  I love the refreshing citrus flavor and the glaze on top which is by far, the best part.  You can substitute the grapefruit for lemons, oranges, or clementines all of which I think would be equally delicious.  Whenever I make a loaf cake, I usually double the recipe and make two.  That way, I can freeze one for a later date.  You never know when your sweet tooth will come calling!  Here’s the updated recipe below:

Ingredients: 

• 2 cups oat flour or gluten free flour
• 2 tspns baking powder
• 1/2 tspn Himalayan salt
• 1 cup buttermilk (I used 1 cup almond milk mixed with 2 tblspns apple cider vinegar but you can also use coconut yogurt)
• 1 cup raw sugar plus 1 tblspn
• 3 eggs
• 1 tblspn grated grapefruit zest (I used a little extra for added flavor)
• 1/2 tspn pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup olive oil or unflavored coconut oil
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice

Directions: 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
• Grease and flour loaf pan with coconut oil.  I also line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Mix the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
• In a large bowl, mix 1 cup sugar and the wet ingredients minus the grapefruit juice.
• Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and pour into the loaf pan.
• Place loaf pan on the middle rack in the oven and bake for approx. 50 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup of grapefruit juice with 1 tblspn sugar on the stove top until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
• When the cake is done, allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
• Place the cake on a cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath and drizzle the sugar mixture on top.

For the Glaze: 

If you would like to add a glaze (and I highly recommend that you do), simply mix 1 cup of confectioners sugar plus 2 tblspns of fresh grapefruit juice and pour over the cake once it is cooled.

*Garnish with slices of grapefruit for a pretty presentation.

*Check out my recipes for lemon yogurt cake, spring lemon cake, and orange yogurt muffins too!