A little bitter with the sweet: grapefruit bundt cake

Ok, ragazzi, for this one, we're going to stop worrying about nutrition and calories and everything else, and MAKE A CAKE.

Yes, we're gonna make a cake.  And it's going to be a flavor you wouldn't think of for cake:  grapefruit.  That's right, grapefruit. And Annalena means the whole kit and caboodle. the whole grapefruit. Pits, peel, juice, EVERYTHING (except the blossom end).

Now, with Annalena's sudden conversion to health, why a CAKE?  Well, she will explain.  It is very simple. Sometime this weekend, Annalena may be hosting another Anna - an Anna from Italy!  To not be able to offer an Italian lady something sweet with her coffee, is tantamount to spitting on the pope's robes.  No, ragazzi, there has to be a cake in the house.

Annalena, as you undoubtedly know, likes to play with different flavors.  And when she saw this recipe on Suvir Saran's web page, and then went to the link to  the Brazilian site to find it, well... she was hooked.

So this is how they make cake in Brazil?  Now, carini, if you have ever appreciated Brazilians, you will understand the illogic of saying "well if they eat this,  and can look  like that..."

(Incidentally, Annalena has a wonderful story to digress about here.  Years ago, she was doing a lot of work in a suburb of Washington DC called Crystal City.  The name is deceiving in every way.  Well, one of the bright spots was a coffee shop, right near the metro station, run by a very large, very funny, take no prisoners Latina.  The coffee shop had different types of coffee, labelled by their origin. So, one day, Annalena walked in and said "Yes, I would like a large, black Brazilian."  The Latina looked back and said "wouldn't we all, love?")

Ok, back to the cake.  It is actually an orange cake in the original, but Chef Saran used grapefruit.  He used about 3/4 of a grapefruit, Annalena used it all - except the blossom end.  Here we go.  It's easy with a food processor.

Here are your ingredients.  One large grapefruit, a cup of vegetable oil, 1.75 cups of sugar, two cups of flour, 4 eggs, a tablespoon of baking powder, and a  pinch of salt.    You should also use a bundt pan for prettiness, although you could use a springform if you like.  Whatever pan you use, butter it well. REALLY butter it well.  Citrus juices make these kinds of cakes hard to remove.

So you have prepped your pan, and now, set your oven to 350.  Cut up your grapefruit.  Annalena cut it into eight pieces and then each of those, into thirds.  Put the pieces into a food processor, and churn it to the point where you have a fine mass, almost like ground meat.  It will not take long.  Then add the eggs, one at a time, directly to the food processor.   Now add the sugar.  And now, the oil.  Keep the machine working, and get everything uniform.

Stop the machine for a minute and scrape everything down.  Put in the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and again, process to uniformity.  Annalena thinks this will all take you about three minutes to do.  Pour the batter into your buttered pan, put it in the oven, and go do something that takes about 45 minutes to do.  Every now and then, you will get a whiff of those grapefruit oils and you will be SO happy.

At 45 minutes, probe the cake with a small knife to see if any wet bits stick to it.  If the answer is no, the cake is done.

You will need to unmold this if you used a bundt pan, and again, because of the citrus juices, sooner is better than later.  That means it will still be hot.  So, PROTECTING YOUR HANDS, put a plate, or cooling rack, on top of the cake, and flip it over firmly.  If you used sufficient butter, it will come out in one lovely, well browned piece.  If it is not moving, do not force it.  Try heating the pan a bit, or sliding a knife around the edges to get it out.    If you fail at this, and your cake is in pieces, worry not, carino. Simply plan on a trifle that night, and make a pudding to layer with pieces of cake.  You'll be just as happy.

Annalena looks forward to the Anna.  And she looks forward to your reactions to this cake.