In every episode of her show Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten glances cooly into the camera and, with a smile, delivers a line something similar to “Clean hands are a chef’s best friend.” You know what runs a close second? Basic improv skills.

There’s nothing more frustrating than getting ready to start baking on a lazy Saturday afternoon and realize there aren’t enough lemons left to whip up Ina’s Lemon Yogurt Cake. The lemons being slightly important to this specific recipe.

I’ve been blowing through pitcher after pitcher of sweet tea lately and with each glass goes a thick lemon wedge. A large bag of lemons will dwindle much faster than I realize. Lemon Yogurt Cake would have to wait another day but I had plenty of oranges and a big ol’ Rio Star grapefruit straight from the Rio Grande valley sitting in the fruit bowl.

I think with enough winking, air quoting, and maybe even a slice of cake as a bribe, I could convince you that it was really as light as it tasted. And since it is flavored with the quintessential “breakfast diet fruit,” we ate a slice of it for breakfast. And it was very good (better without the glaze… but very good).

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Texas Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

Grapefruit juice and yogurt yield a wonderfully moist and tangy cake.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 1/3 cups sugar, divided
• 3 extra-large eggs
• 1 Tbsp Texas Grapefruit zest (from about 3/4 of the grapefruit)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 Tbsp + 1/3 cup fresh-squeezed Texas Grapefruit juice
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• For the glaze
• 1 cup confectioners
• 2 Tbsp fresh-squeezed Texas Grapefruit juice

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan (mine is a 10-inch pan).
2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt into a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a mixer, combine the the yogurt, 1 cup sugar, the eggs, grapefruit zest, vanilla, and 1 Tbsp grapefruit juice on low speed. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined. Add the vegetable oil into the batter, mixing to make sure it's all incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a cake tester placed in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
3. Meanwhile, cook the 1/3 cup grapefruit juice and remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a small pan until the sugar dissolves and the mixture is clear. Set aside.
4. When the cake is done, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Carefully place on a baking rack over a sheet pan. While the cake is still warm, pour the grapefruit-sugar mixture over the cake and allow it to soak in. Cool.
5. For the glaze, whisk together the confectioners' sugar and juice and pour over the cake.

Notes

Yields: ~12 servings

Adapted from Barefoot Contessa at Home

Estimated time: 1 hour