Grapefruit Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with citrus glaze, breaking the boundaries with diverse tastes, and amazing textures.
I cannot rave enough about this cake, seriously. I wouldn't even mind if you scrolled down to the recipe without reading my post, I'd just like for you to make it, and let me know. And then we can talk about it. And you can read the post and agree with me on its awesomeness and possibly say Thank you for sharing. That is how much I like this Grapefruit Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Citrus Glaze. A whole lot.
How this Grapefruit Olive Oil cake came to be
I told you about my -recently discovered- passion for the Edmonton Public Library. Our finances and our small living space are immensely grateful to this discovery, because considering the huge amount of books and cookbooks that I read, we would have probably had to move to a bigger place or/and be broke. This lending/borrowing thing is just fantastic, I have access to a vast, almost endless collection and what is left for me is just to go there, which is by itself an enjoyable experience (being a "bookworm" I like all libraries and bookstores) and let my intuition or some good suggestion, guide me toward the chosen one/s. Yes, I usually come home with more than one book. Let's say 3 or 4, and I bus it home 🙂 .
I had read about this cookbook "Date Night In", by Ashley Rodriguez, and being that I follow her blog "Not Without Salt", I was really intrigued in bringing it home with me. The cookbook is really pleasant and many are the recipes worth a try. But you know me and baking simple, wholesome, fragrant cakes, my eyes were immediately stuck on a recipe that had grapefruit and olive oil in the title. I was sold. But I couldn't forgive myself for not having a grapefruit in my pantry. I wanted to bake it right there and then, but did not want to change that ingredient, I knew it would be an incredible flavor. So, I had to wait until the day after, when we finally got a grapefruit, to bake and taste this awesome cake. That might not, to some of you, look as pretty as some fancy cakes, but I can assure you after the first bite you would be sold, too. It was meant to be baked in a loaf pan, just no frills, other than stunning goodness, but I did not want to butter and flour the loaf pan, so I turned to my non-stick beautiful bundt cake pan.
I slightly adapted the recipe to what I had in my pantry and fridge, for example, I added some coconut flour to the all-purpose flour, because I ran out, but also knew it would add a wonderful flavor. As for the citrus glaze, which would deserve a post on its own is also that good, it's made of freshly squeezed lemon, lime and orange juice, beat with icing sugar. It compliments the cake in a way that I wouldn't have imagined, it just marries beautifully all the other flavors: the vanilla greek yogurt, e.v.o. oil, coconut flour, semi sweet mini chocolate chips and grapefruit juice. Every bite and you're in heaven. No kidding.
A combination of tart and sweet, chocolate and glaze, all in one perfect mouthful. The grapefruit with its citrus somewhat bitter nature is calmed by the textures and sweetness of other ingredients, and the crust of the cake a duality of crystallization and melt in your mouth loveliness leaving you with nothing but pleasurable feelings.
Song of the day: "The Fight Song" by Rachel Platten.
Adapted from a recipe found on the cookbook "Date Night In" by Ashley Rodriguez (creator of notwithoutsalt.com).
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Grapefruit Chocolate Olive Oil Cake with Citrus Glaze
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Ingredients
Cake:
- ½ cup freshly squeezed grapefruit juice
- 1 Tbsp freshly grated grapefruit zest
- ½ cup greek yogurt (plain or vanilla)
- 3 large organic, free-range eggs
- ⅔ cup cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ cup light brown sugar (or granulated sugar)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (I ran out of all purpose and used 1 ½ cups all purpose + ¼ coconut flour)
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 1 ¼ tsp kosher salt
- 4 ounces semisweet (mini) chocolate chips (or finely chopped chunks)
Glaze
- ½ Tbs grapefruit zest
- ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime, lemon, grapefruit mix
- 1 cup icing sugar
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. If you're using a loaf pan, butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan. I used a non-stick bundt pan.
Cake:
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the grapefruit juice, bring to simmer and reduce by half. Set aside to cool slightly.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the grapefruit zest, yogurt, eggs, olive oil. Mix just until combined. Add slowly the reduced grapefruit juice and mix well.
- In a large bowl, add the sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, whisking to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing just until well blended. Add the chocolate chips (or finely chopped chunks).
- Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan or bundt pan and place in the preheated oven.
- Bake for about 50-55 minutes or until the cake is deeply brown and firm and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- While the cake is in the oven, make the glaze.
Glaze:
- In a medium bowl, combine the grapefruit zest with the citrus juice. Slowly, add the icing sugar, stirring gently until well mixed and thick.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert it (if it is in a bundt pan like mine) on a wire rack.
- When cooled to room temperature, place the cake on a parchement baking sheet and drizzle with the citrus glaze. Let the glaze set and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8-10 servings
Same bundt cake pan, for another fragrant, incredible cake:
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I love baking and kneading dough because it takes me to a happy place in my soul.
Carrie says
This is absolutely so pretty and sounds like it would smell and taste delightful! Can't wait to try it!
Thanks Carrie! The smell coming from the oven was absolutely intriguing...but the flavors...oh my! Hope you try it and let me know!
Joanne Ochej says
I love cakes made with olive oil! Can't wait to try it, grazie mille~
The flavor and the texture olive oil gives a cake is unbelievable. I would recommend this cake to everybody! Thanks for stopping by, Joanne!
Diane Galambos says
I'm very intrigued by olive oil - making plans to try this out! Diane (FBC-er)
Thanks so much, Diane! It is worth the try, just saying 😉 . Cakes with olive oil instead of butter are my favorite!
Ayngelina says
I love Not Without Salt too, great inspiration for a beautiful recipe
Thanks Ayngelina, it is a beautiful recipe, I fell in love as soon as I saw it, I changed very few things.
Colleen says
This sounds absolutely divine, and looks beautifully moist and very pretty. YUM!
Thank you for your nice comment Colleen. The cake is pretty, moist and so good!
Dana says
Jeeeeez girl, this is gorgeous. I've always wanted to try olive oil cake because, well, I love the flavor of olive oil! I've been contemplating olive oil ice cream (it's a thing; there is a recipe for it in a book I have)!
This post reminds me that I really need to get a bundt cake pan.
Thanks Dana, you're so nice! I heard about the olive oil ice cream! Haven't tried it yet, but sure it's good! And after making the ice cream, get a bundt pan ????.
karrie @ Tasty Ever After says
I love libraries too. They are so great to check out a cookbook and see if I want to add it to my collection without having to buy it first. I'll have to look up Not Without Salt blog. This cake is so beautiful and loving the grapefruit and chocolate combo. Definitely trying soon because very intrigued to see how all the flavors taste together 🙂
Karrie, you're going to love this cake, the flavors are so good together! Thank you for stopping by and leaving your nice comment.
Sean says
WOW. I mean, the cake LOOKS gorgeous, but the flavours sound absolutely breathtaking. I love a good olive oil cake. Ditto for grapefruit, and of course chocolate. But the combination of the three was unexpected, and sounds simply marvelous. Beautifully done.
The flavors are indeed breathtaking, Sean! It is not overly sweet and each flavor compliments and enhance the other. Hope we had still some left 🙂 . Thanks so much for your comment!
Justine @ JustineCelina.com says
I absolutely love the stunning cake, guys! I love even more that it's dairy free and I could actually eat it. 🙂 I've just pinned the recipe to try it later -- the flavour combinations here are so intriguing to me. Bravo!
Yes Justine! If you switch the yogurt with a dairy-free one, it is perfect! You're going to love it, I'm sure! Thanks so much for your comment!
Demeter | Beaming Baker says
Nicoletta, this cake is simply gorgeous. You can't stop raving about it, and I can't stop staring. The colors of this chocolate olive oil cake are just beautiful. I love that you discovered the public library in your area and have found so much inspiration and joy there. I know exactly what you mean about living in a small space just stuffed with books! Erik and I were the same until we moved and had to get rid of almost everything. So happy you can now have the best of both worlds. Can't see what else unfolds from your library adventures. Pinning! xo
Thanks so much Demeter! We're in love with this cake. Public libraries are awesome! More recipes coming up from my adaptation of wonderful cookbook recipes 🙂 .
PoetSpeak says
Interesting!
Thank you so much for stopping by! It is such a great cake, I am still in love with its flavors!
Michele says
This was fantastic! I didn't even have a fresh grapefruit for it, but it was so good! So moist and well balanced!
I am so glad you liked it, thank you so much! I just love this cake ????.