Mini Grapefruit Cake

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

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar at a moderate speed with hand mixer for 1 minute.
2. Mix in the egg, grapefruit juice, zest, and vanilla.
3. 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.
4. 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:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and grapefruit juice until smooth.
2. Using a toothpick, the tip of a sharp knife, or the tines of a fork, poke holes all over the cake.
3. Pour the glaze over the cake.
4. 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

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

• Mini Pound Cake
• Mini Spice Cake
• Mini Carrot Cake
• Mini King Cake

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.

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