breakfast, recipe, sweet, winter

Pink Grapefruit and Rosemary Cornmeal Cake

My friends Priscilla and Patrick are getting married in less than a month, and we had a bachelorette party for Priscilla last Saturday. There were lots of decorations (pink, pink, and more pink), dancing, drinking, and of course food. I made a lemon meringue pie (it was gone in a flash- no pictures to prove its existence unfortunately) and the famous beer bread.
To me, springtime weddings are elegant and often full of light. In spring the weather is just beginning to improve and everyone is eager to peel off the layers of clothing and finally shave their legs.

Oh, is that just me?

This springtime cake is citrus-y, flavourful and very moist. Both sweet and aromatic, it is a genuine showstopper because of the interesting flavours of cornmeal, grapefruit and rosemary. You are probably curious about having rosemary in a cake, but it pairs beautifully with the bitterness of pink grapefruit and the robustness of cornmeal.

I also added some hibiscus syrup to the cake and the glaze, to elevate the floral notes that are often in grapefruit. But don’t fret if you don’t have it, the cake will still be wonderful without. Especially if you add a flavourful booze like brandy!

Pink Grapefruit and Rosemary Cornmeal Cake

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup canola oil
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp hibuscus syrup + 3 tbsp brandy (or 4 tbsp of your favourite liquor)
  • 3 large eggs
  • juice and zest of one large pink grapefruit and one medium orange
  • 2 tsp dried rosemary, crumbled with your hands
  • 1 and 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 2/3 cup cornmeal
  • 2 tsp baking powder

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease your bundt pan.
  2. Beat the butter, oil and sugar in a large bowl until light and creamy. Add the liquor and the eggs one at a time, mixing between each egg. Stir in the juice, zest and rosemary.
  3. In a medium size bowl, stir together the flour, cornmeal and baking powder. Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, folding just until combined. Pour into prepared pan.
  4. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow it to cool for about 5 minutes before inverting the cake onto a cooling rack.

Once the cake is completely cooled, glaze it with: 1/4 cup grapefruit juice, 1/4 cup icing sugar, 1 tbsp hibiscus syrup. It will soak right in, making a deliciously saucy crust!

Recipe adapted from The Baking Bird.

May 6, 2014

Hilary

My name is Hilary, and I am the founder of Cocoa Bean, The Vegetable. I hope you enjoy my fruitful food stories and recipes as I explore and get creative in the kitchen.