Grapefruit Loaf Cake

Low- and no-waste cooking is possible for every part of the meal, including dessert. Citrus, for instance, is an easy thing to make the most of. In this cake, you’ll use the juice in the syrup and the glaze, and the zest will flavor the cake. Peel any extra zest from your grapefruits, candy it to decorate the top and compost the pith. Want to go further? Grind up your spent eggshells to fortify your garden soil. Buttermilk is its own low-waste product, as it’s the runoff from the butter-making process. I’m not saying you have to churn your own butter, but if you do, it will yield some of the best buttermilk around.

Grapefruit Loaf Cake

Serves | 8 to 10 |

1½ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
1 scant tsp kosher salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 Tbsp red grapefruit zest, grated (2 to 3 grapefruits)
½ cup olive oil
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk

Cake Syrup

3 Tbsp granulated sugar
¼ cup red grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed

Glaze

¾ to 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 Tbsp red grapefruit juice, freshly squeezed

| Preparation – Cake | Preheat oven to 350˚F, and grease a standard loaf pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl, and set aside. Combine sugar and grapefruit zest in a large mixing bowl, and use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar to release oils. Add olive oil and eggs, whisking until smooth and combined. Stir in half the flour mixture, using a rubber spatula to incorporate; stir in buttermilk, and then add remaining flour mixture, stirring until mixture is smooth and no dry spots remain. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until cake tester in center comes out clean or with few crumbs.

| Preparation – Cake Syrup | Add sugar and juice to a small saucepan, and set over medium heat, whisking frequently until sugar dissolves. Bring to a bubble, and reduce to a simmer; stir frequently, and allow mixture to thicken slightly; remove from heat, and set aside. Once cake is baked, cool for 15 minutes in pan, and then turn out onto wire rack. Poke holes all over top of cake with wooden skewer, and brush top with grapefruit syrup; set aside to cool completely before glazing.

| Preparation – Glaze | When cake has cooled, whisk together ¾ cup confectioners’ sugar and grapefruit juice; add more sugar 1 tablespoon at a time until mixture has reached desired consistency. Dip a spoon in glaze, and wave back and forth over top for a drizzle glaze, or spread a thin layer over top for a solid glaze, letting it drip down the sides. Serve once glaze has set.