Citrus Bundt Cake
Citrus Bundt Cake is the perfect way to celebrate this time of year. Here in Arizona, this is THE time! Our trees are ripe with grapefruits, lemons, sweet AZ oranges and blood oranges. Squeezing and then baking or cooking with the juice and zest is heavenly and this recipe pays homage to this special season. You folks in Florida know what I’m talking about!
For this delightful bundt cake, we are zesting the skins of ruby red grapefruit and blood oranges, supreming (I’ll explain later) the fruit and using the juice. This is the tail to snout of fruit! Haha
You’ll love how moist and tender this cake is with tiny chunks of citrus and poppyseeds in it. Topped with a lemony glaze, it is nothing short of perfection!
The first thing to do is to zest the grapefruit and blood oranges. Mix the zest into the sugar and use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until it’s evenly distributed and fragrant.
Then, cut off 1/4-inch off the top and bottom of the fruit and using a paring knife, remove the skin and the white pith, following the shape of the fruit.
Slice between each membrane and drop the segments and juice into a bowl. Remove any seeds and cut the segments into 1/2-inch pieces.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter for two minutes and add half of the sugar and zest mixture. Mix for another two minutes and add the remainder of the mixture. Beat for another 4 minutes until the mixture is light, fluffy and fragrant.
Add the eggs, followed by the sour cream and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix until combined. Fold in the citrus pieces, citrus juice and the poppyseeds and transfer to bundt pan.
Bake the cake for about an hour or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan and then unmold it to cool completely before glazing it.
To make the glaze, zest and juice the lemons. Add the zest to the confectioners’ sugar and then whisk in the lemon juice. When the cake has almost cooled, poke some holes with a skewer on top and drizzle half of the glaze on top and let it soak for about 20 minutes.
Pour the rest of the glaze over top and let it set up for a few minutes prior to serving.
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Citrus Bundt Cake
Makes: 8 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Bake Time: 1 hour & 10 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour & 40 minutes
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 medium grapefruit
- 2 blood oranges
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp poppyseeds, optional
Lemon Glaze:
- 2 medium Meyer or regular lemons
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- Pinch salt
Instructions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan very thoroughly.
To Make the Cake:
Scrub the grapefruit and blood oranges with warm soapy water to remove any excess wax, then dry the fruit. Put the sugar into a medium bowl and zest the grapefruit and blood oranges directly into the sugar. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar until evenly distributed and fragrant.
To supreme the grapefruit and oranges, cut the tops and bottoms off of all the fruits, then cut the white pith away from the outside of the fruit. Over a bowl, carefully cut the wedges of fruit away from the membrane, letting the fruit and juices fall into the bowl. Remove any seeds that have fallen in and gently break up the fruit into 1/2-inch pieces.
Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl with an electric mixer, mix the butter on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add half of the sugar and zest mixture and turn the mixer up to medium high. Mix for 2 minutes, then add the remaining sugar and mix for 4 minutes, making sure to scrape down the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula periodically. The butter and sugar should be very light, fluffy, and fragrant.
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 30 seconds after each addition. Periodically stop the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to ensure even mixing.
On low speed, add the sour cream and vanilla followed by the flour mixture, and mix until just combined. Remove the bowl from the mixer and gently fold in the fruit segments, juices and poppyseeds, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan lightly on the counter to remove any large air bubbles.
Bake the cake until it is golden and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 75 minutes, depending on the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then carefully unmold it onto a rack to cool a bit more before glazing.
To Make the Glaze:
Zest and juice the lemons. Add the zest, confectioners’ sugar, and a pinch of salt to a bowl. Whisk in about 6 tablespoons of the lemon juice. You want the glaze to be thick, but pourable. If the glaze seems too thick to pour, add a few more drops of lemon juice.
When the cake has mostly cooled, use a skewer to poke a few holes into its surface. Drizzle half of the glaze on top of the cake, let it soak in for about 20 minutes, then whisk the remaining glaze until smooth and pour it over the top of the cake. Let the glaze set for a few minutes before serving.
Store leftover citrus bundt cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days.
Recipe by The Vanilla Bean Blog
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