Buttery grapefruit cake drizzled with a wonderful grapefruit glaze. Easy to prepare and the perfect amount for one or two people to enjoy.
This gorgeous grapefruit cake features the perfect balance of tart and sweet. It is a wonderfully tender and aromatic cake that is finished with an incredible glaze which is poured over the top after the cake has baked.
Why This Recipe Works
- This cake is ultra moist. It's light, refreshing and absolutely delicious!
- Grapefruit cake is so easy to make and this easy recipe yields the perfect amount for serving one or two people.
- It's delicious for breakfast, dessert, or a snack.
- The cake is topped with a grapefruit glaze.
- There are no fancy ingredients needed.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
See recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Butter: Use salted butter. Make sure the butter is soft, not melted. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Sugar, vanilla, salt, grapefruit juice, and grapefruit zest: These ingredients provide excellent flavor. It is easy to zest a grapefruit. I prefer using a grater to zest citrus. To zest grapefruit, drag the grapefruit in a downward motion against the blades of the grater to remove the colorful portion of the skin. Continue this step until you reach the pith (the white part). If the zest is stuck under the grater, tap it against a plate or cutting board to release the finely grated zest.
- Egg: An egg provides structure in cakes and one large egg is all you need.
- Flour: Use all-purpose flour (plain flour).
- Baking powder: This ingredient helps the cake rise.
- Milk: Milk adds moisture to the cake batter. Use any percentage of cow's milk or almond milk.
For The Sweet and Tangy Grapefruit Glaze
- Powdered sugar: Also called confectioners' sugar. I use 4 tablespoons in my glaze recipe.
- Grapefruit juice: Use 2 teaspoons of juice.
You can control the grapefruit flavor and the thickness of the glaze - use more/less grapefruit juice and more/less powdered sugar. Make the glaze as thick or as thin as you'd like. If you don't want to make a glaze, keep the cake plain or use a buttercream frosting instead.
How To Make This Recipe
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar at a moderate speed with hand mixer for 1 minute.
- Mix in the egg, grapefruit juice, zest, and vanilla.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix at low speed to combine. Stir in the milk.
- Pour batter into a lightly buttered baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden.
Allow to cool before adding the glaze.
To Make The Grapefruit Glaze:
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and grapefruit juice until smooth.
- Using a toothpick, the tip of a sharp knife, or the tines of a fork, poke holes all over the cake.
- Pour the glaze over the cake.
- Slice and enjoy.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to use real butter, not margarine in this mini grapefruit cake recipe.
- Make sure the butter is soft, not melted. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for a smooth, velvety texture.
- Don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour first to loosen it and then spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level it off using the flat edge of a knife.
- Check to make sure your oven is the proper temperature. It’s common for an oven to not be calibrated properly. Many ovens heat too high or too low compared to what the temperature is set at. I recommend investing on an oven thermometer to test your own oven temperature.
- Feel free to make the glaze thicker by adding more powdered sugar or thinner by adding more juice.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may refrigerate the cake overnight, or up to 3 days, covered with plastic wrap or in an airtight container.
Although the cake is incredibly delicious on its own, you might like to add a dollop of whipped cream, fresh grapefruit segments, or a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Yes, you can store grapefruit in the freezer. Peel the grapefruit and either freeze it whole, or cut the grapefruit apart and freeze in sections. Frozen grapefruit can be eaten straight from the freezer and tossed in water, used in smoothies, or eaten when thawed.
The dish shown in the photos is a 6.5x4.9 x1.8-inch baking dish. You may also use a 5x5-inch baking dish which has an area of 25 square inches or a 4x6-inch dish which has an area of 24 square inches. For best results, use a dish of similar size.
Two small 8-ounce ramekins or two mini loaf pans would work well with this recipe too.
All of these dishes can be found on our Store page.
If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients left over from this grapefruit cake recipe, you might like to use them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
- Eggs: Cheesy Baked Eggs, Pasta Carbonara, Breakfast Casserole
- Butter: Butter Cookies, Deep Dish Chocolate Chip Cookie, Two Vanilla Cupcakes
- Baking Powder: Blueberry Cobbler, Pancake Mix, Biscuits
- Vanilla: Vanilla Pudding, Vanilla Ice Cream, Banana Cream Pie
- Milk: Pralines, Hot Chocolate, Milkshake
- Powdered sugar: Cranberry Orange Scones, Cinnamon Rolls, Flourless Chocolate Cookies
Other Mini Cake Recipes
If you’ve tried this mini grapefruit cake or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see!
Ingredients
For the cake batter
- 4 tablespoons salted butter (¼ cup), softened. Plus ½ tablespoon more for greasing the baking dish
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon grapefruit juice
- ½ teaspoon grapefruit zest
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ⅛ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup low fat milk
For the grapefruit glaze
- 4 tablespoons powdered sugar
- 2 teaspoons grapefruit juice
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F (177° C)
- Grease a 5-inch baking dish with ½ tablespoon of butter. Place baking dish on top of a baking sheet.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar at a moderate speed with hand mixer for 1 minute.
- Mix in the egg, grapefruit juice, zest, and vanilla.
- In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and mix at low speed to combine.
- Stir in the milk.
- Pour batter into a lightly buttered baking dish and bake for 40-45 minutes or until top is golden.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool, 10 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and grapefruit juice until smooth.
- Using a toothpick, the tip of a sharp knife, or the tines of a fork, poke holes all over the cake.
- Pour the glaze over the cake.
- Slice and enjoy.
Notes
- Be sure to use real butter, not margarine.
- Make sure the butter is soft, not melted. A good way to check to see if your butter is the right consistency is to make an indention in the butter with your finger. If it’s easy to make an indentation and the butter keeps its shape, then it’s the correct temperature.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy for a smooth, velvety texture.
- Don’t scoop the flour with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour first to loosen it and then spoon it into a dry measuring cup and level it off using the flat edge of a knife.
- Check to make sure your oven is the proper temperature. It’s common for an oven to not be calibrated properly. Many ovens heat too high or too low compared to what the temperature is set at. I recommend investing on an oven thermometer to test your own oven temperature.
- Feel free to make the glaze thicker by adding more powdered sugar or thinner by adding more juice.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Hi, Joanie. The grapefruits are ripe & juicy here in Sun City, AZ, & we are trying your Mini Grapefruit Cake, but no oven temperature is provided. I’m guessing 350 degrees F?
Yes, bake at 350° F (177° C).