Looking out the kitchen window, I see a myriad of lilies and violets dotting the path leading from our home out into the forest. On the kitchen table, lavender sits in the sun, drying and releasing a lovely fragrance. In a basket, large and ripe pink grapefruit stand out against our green apples.
The sun is out, a northerly wind blows in from the kitchen and out through the dining room. Today; I feel today is the perfect day to make a grapefruit lavender bundt cake with a pistachio streusel. Vegan, of course, and with zesty and botanical aromas that linger on the palate.
Prep Time: 35-40 min | Bake Time: 38 – 40 min | Serves: 8 | Difficulty Level: ♦ ♦ ♦ – Intermediate
the grapefruit cake
- 3 cups flour – plus 2 tbsp
- ¾ cups sugar
- ¾ cup oil, canola or olive
- ¾ cup yogurt, plant-based
- 1 large pink grapefruit, zest and juice (appx 1 cup)
- 2 tbsp butter, plant-based (to coat the cake mold)
- 2 tsp culinary lavender buds
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
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- ½ cup pistachios, raw
Making the bundt cake
In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour ensuring that there aren’t any chunks. Over the flour, sprinkle the lightly crushed lavender buds and grate the zest of a whole grapefruit.
In a separate mixing bowl, place the sugar, oil, and yogurt and mix well with a whisk until thoroughly incorporated, about 2 minutes.
Incorporate the wet mixture into the dry ingredients, mixing in circular motion from bottom to top in order to envelope as much air in the batter as possible.
Squeeze out the juice of the grapefruit. Depending on the size, you might need more than one to make a full cup of grapefruit juice. Add 1 cup of the freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice to the batter and combine until the juice is dissolved into the mix.
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Grease an oven-safe bundt cake mold with 2 tbsp of plant-based butter and sprinkle 2 tbsp of flour over the butter to coat the surface. This will prevent the cake from sticking to the mold. On a cutting board, finely chop the raw pistachios and place onto the bottom of the prepared bundt cake pan. Set aside.
In a small bowl, dissolve the baking powder in apple cider vinegar. Add the foamy mixture to the bowl with the grapefruit cake batter and mix well. With the help of a spatula, pour the batter over the chopped pistachios in the cake mold an level the surface gently.
Bake the cake for 38-40 minutes, or until an toothpick or skewer inserted halfway into the cake comes out clean.
Let cool and flip the cake to enjoy with your favorite tea.
EXTRAS AND TIPS
Try not to overmix the cake batter, as overmixing will cause air to escape. The more air is encased in the batter, the fluffier your cake will be once baked.
If you feel audacious and love the flavor and aroma of culinary lavender, you can add up to 3 – 3 ½ tsp of crushed lavender buds. I haven’t personally tried this grapefruit cake with 3 tsp of lavender, and therefore I couldn’t say whether that quantity would upset, or embitter, the citrusy cake. Lavender gives the cake a nice botanical aftertaste, while also emphasizing the sweet and tangy, slightly acidic grapefruit taste – too much lavender might throw off the balance of flavors, so experiment at your own peril.
In case you dislike grapefruit, you can substitute it for lemon, orange, mandarins, or any other juicy citrus, minding that some of those may be more acidic than grapefruit. Increase the sugar intake if using lemon, yuzu, or any of the more tangy citrus. Finally, don’t forget that 1 cup of juice is necessary to make the bundt cake light and moist.
PAIRING SUGGESTION
Try it with a cup of “White Vanilla Grapefruit” tea.
