Grapefruit Tea Cake

One of my favorite holidays is just around the corner and I'm pretty worked up about it. 

I have always loved Valentine's Day.  Even before Mr. Pedantic entered my life, I always found a way to fit in some extra celebrating (also known as chocolate consumption) come February 14th.  Whether it was a Galentine's Day movie night, constructing clever candy heart messages with my sister, or the elaborate family celebrations my mama would put on, it has always been a day I look forward to.

For years, my mother began Valentine's Day by making us a double batch of the most delicious glazed lemon muffins.  They were light and fluffy, and redolent with lemon.

This year, I am nodding to those beloved muffins with this scrumptious grapefruit cake.  What better way to begin this lovely, girlish holiday than with a frilly bundt?  

This cake is scented with grapefruit zest, juice, and a chunky grapefruit marmalade.  We aren't playing around.   

This cake required testing and retesting in order to achieve the pungent and distinctive grapefruit flavor I desired.  (You'll notice the disparities between my original hand-written test recipe and the perfected recipe given in this post.)  Sometimes perfection takes time. 

However, my patience and determination were rewarded, for now I can give you this cake.  A bright, citrus-laden cake with a thick, tart glaze.  It's moist, sliceable, buttery, and the perfect way to begin tomorrow's festivities.  

AND!  It actually improves in both flavor and texture after it has been allowed to sit overnight.  So, you can whip it up this evening and greet your valentine with a cup of tea and a generous slice of cake tomorrow morning. 

I think I'll share a slice of this cake with my mama, there's no better valentine than the gift of sweet nostalgia. 

I really hope someone gives you a Fun Dip valentine this year - we all know they are the best. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

P.S. This is the bundt pan I used, just in case you feel like adding to your collection of specialty baking pans. 

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Grapefruit Tea Cake

yields one bundt cake

for the cake

- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened 

- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar 

- 2 tablespoons ruby red grapefruit zest (about one large grapefruit)

- 3 eggs

- 1/2 cup sour cream 

- 1/4 cup ruby red grapefruit juice 

- 1/4 cup grapefruit marmalade 

- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

- pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

In the work bowl of your stand mixer beat butter on medium speed for one minute; until fluffy. 

In a small bowl, combine granulated sugar and grapefruit zest and use a fork to press the zest into the sugar.  This will release the oils from the zest and lend us a more flavorful cake.

Add the sugar to the whipped butter and cream together on medium speed.  Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. 

Decrease the speed to low and mix in the sour cream, grapefruit juice, and grapefruit marmalade. 

In a separate bowl, sift to combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  

With the mixer still on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.

Coat your bundt pan liberally with nonstick spray and fold the batter into the pan.  Shake the pan back and forth several times to even out the batter.  Bake for 50-55 minutes, until the cake is golden and bounces back when tapped lightly.  

Flip the cake out onto a platter and allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.  While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. 

for the glaze

- 2 1/2 tablespoons ruby red grapefruit juice 

- 2 tablespoons grapefruit marmalade 

- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar 

-  course sugar or sprinkles, optional 

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk to combine juice and marmalade.  Slowly whisk in confectioner’s sugar, forming a thick glaze.  

Use a spatula to spread the glaze over the warm cake and sprinkle with course sugar.  Allow the cake to cool completely* before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

*This is cake is best enjoyed after it has been allowed to sit overnight.  Just be sure to cover the cake with plastic wrap before doing so. 

10 Lords-a-Leaping - A Holiday Collaboration

My mother has always had a stack of Christmas books that she only rescues from the depths of the closet once a year.

Each of us children have always had our favorite, and my mother would rotate through each beautifully-illustrated volume throughout the cozy evenings of December.  Those were some of the best evenings of the whole year. 

One of my favorite books was a richly colored picture book - each of its twelve pages containing but one line from a classic tune. 

"The 12 Days of Christmas" - it was an illustrated interpretation of one of my very favorite carols. 

Those sweet memories all returned when Cost Plus World Market approached me with the whimsical notion of creating a 10 Lords-a-Leaping-inspired recipe.

I invited two of my sweet young lady friends over to share with them my treasured book, and to make use of some of their endless energy as we assembled these miniature Lord Baltimore cakes. 

Bing Crosby serenaded whilst we baked and whipped and frosted.  

You can find the full recipe for these tiny cakes on the World Market Blog - along with eleven other deliciously inspired Christmas baking recipes!

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

This post was sponsored by Cost Plus World Market . They have been my faithful and trusted source for all things festive - from Christmas entertaining essentials, to whimsical bakeware, World Market has you covered! This post was a joy to put together and I am delighted to share it with you! It is a great privilege to work with a brand that I love so much! All opinions here are my own, as always. Thank you for reading and allowing me to continue doing what I love!

Don't forget to enter Cost Plus World Market's Great Holiday Baking Sweepstakes" for a chance to win a trip for two to London, with pastry classes, a guided food tour, a $1,000 World Market gift card, and more! Enter every day, now through December 31st!

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Daddy's Birthday Cake

Tomorrow is my father's birthday.  Tomorrow is also six days before my wedding.  Yikes. 

I love my dad.  So much.  A lot.  

However, I realized several weeks ago that his birthday and my wedding were dangerously close, and I was not sure that I could pull off a truly good birthday cake just days before my wedding. That is why I baked him this cake several weeks ago.  Hopefully the memories of it and a lovely dinner out will make up for the lack of cake tomorrow. 

Ever since I can remember, my father has always had the same birthday cake - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. 

While his palate can be adventurous, his favorite things are the simplest.  Cherry pie, soft pretzels, and my mother's cherry-almond biscotti - these are a few of his most cherished edibles.  His simplistic routines are comforting to me - a person who seeks out innovation but finds the greatest joy in sameness. 

Daddy's yellow cake begins like most cakes - with that strong and faithful team that is butter and sugar.  

You already know what's up, don't you?

Butter and sugar are creamed, eggs are added, then our dry team and liquid teams bring it all together. 

Hey there, you big ole' pan of batter!  Why are you so heavy?

If I eat you will I be that much heavier afterwards?  Nah, that kind of math is not allowed at birthday celebrations. 

While the cake bakes, buttercream calls.  Chocolate buttercream, that is. 

My father and I have a history with chocolate buttercream. 

When I was somewhere between 18-24 months old, my mother made me pancakes.  She then left my father to feed them to me while she escaped for a few minutes of solace.

When she returned, my proud father gushed about how heartily I had devoured pancake after pancake.  My proud but skeptical mother was astonished for a moment as well, before discovering that every last one of those much-adored pancakes had been slathered with chocolate frosting.  

Clearly, my daddy loved me very much.  He was always the one that would put brown sugar on our carrots and let us have as much maple syrup as we would like.  Dads are cool.  

About twenty years later, I am still in love with chocolate buttercream.  

I like a really powerful chocolate flavor in my buttercream, and I've found that a combination of both melted chocolate and cocoa powder brings the most to the party, flavor-wise.  

I like my dad because he will forever insist upon hating certain shows, and then we will find him lurking behind the couch watching them with us.  His surprised annoyance when we turn them off in the middle of the episode is kind of a giveaway...  

I like my dad because once he took my styling mousse to try to make his hair more like Adam Levine's.

I like my dad because as children we knew that if we told him we were going to make a fort and started doing a really shoddy job, he would come in and build us a freaking castle. 

I like my dad because he has supported me in all my efforts.  From business building to cooking...even before I knew how to cook.  Sorry, dad. 

I love my dad because he made mistakes, and then he admitted it. 

Happy birthday, Daddy. 

Sincerely, 

your pedantic daughter 

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Daddy’s Birthday Cake

recipe adapted slightly from Baking At Home with the Culinary Institute of America

for the yellow cake 

- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

- 2 cups granulated sugar

- 4 eggs  

- 3 cups all-purpose flour

- 1 tablespoon baking powder

- 1 cup whole milk 

- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Prepare three 8-inch cake pans by spraying with nonstick spray and dusting with all-purpose flour.  Flip and tap the pans to remove any excess flour. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat butter for one minute; until fluffy.  With the mixer on medium speed, slowly beat in granulated sugar.  When all the sugar is mixed in, beat the mixture for one more minute.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides after each.  

In a separate bowl, sift to combine flour and baking powder.  

With the mixer on low speed, beat in 1/3 of the flour mixture.  Follow the flour with 1/3 of the milk.  Continue add the flour and milk in alternating increments, beating well after each, and scraping down the sides as needed. 

When the batter has come together, add vanilla extract. 

Divide the batter evenly amongst the three cake pans and bake, until the layers spring back when the center is touched lightly; about 25-30 minutes. 

Place the pans on cooling racks, until the cakes have cooled completely.  Run a butterknife along the sides of each cake to loosen it from the pan. 

Use a sharp, serrated knife to level the top of each cake.  Gently dust off the crumbs. 

for the chocolate buttercream

- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened

- 1/2 cup cocoa powder

- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped

- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted 

- 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream 

- pinch of salt

Place chopped chocolate in a small, glass bowl.  Microwave at thirty second increments, stirring after each, until the chocolate is fully melted.  Allow to cool slightly while you prepare the frosting. 

In the work bowl of your stand mixer beat butter on medium speed for 1 minute; until fluffy.  Beat in cocoa powder.  Add melted chocolate and 1/2 of the confectioner’s sugar and beat until well combined.  Continue mixing on low speed and slowly incorporate the remaining confectioner's sugar.  Add heavy cream and salt and beat until smooth. 

Place a small amount of buttercream in the center of a cake plate, stand, or turntable.  If you do not yet own a cake turntable, it is SO worth the investment.  It made me actually enjoy the frosting process and that was a first. 

Lay the first cake layer (top-side facing down)* on top of the buttercream and press down slightly.  Spread a thick layer of chocolate frosting onto the top (which would actually be the bottom of the cake) of the first layer and cover with the second layer.  Place the second layer top-side down as well.  Cover the cake with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 15 minutes.

Cook's Note: Though all of the refrigerating periods may seem tedious, speaking as one who has had many a cake failure, a set frosting will save you from many a cake disaster.

When the cake has chilled, remove from the refrigerator and cover with a second layer of buttercream.  Place the final layer on the cake - again, top-side down - and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for an additional 15 minutes.

When the layers of frosting have set, cover the entire cake with a thin layer of buttercream.  Refrigerate the cake for 20-30 minutes, until the outer frosting is somewhat firm.

Cover the cake with a thick layer of the remaining buttercream and smooth with an offset spatula, or, my new favorite tool - the icing smoother. 

Decorate with cocoa powder, sprinkles, or whatever the heck you want.  It’s birthday time.  Enjoy! 

*Since the cake layers will likely need to be leveled off with a knife, it is best to place them upside down so that you do not have to deal with the frustration of trying to spread icing onto a crumby cake.  

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