Ruby Red Grapefruit Sheet Cake with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sheet Cake with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting is tender, moist, sweet, and tart. If you like citrus and grapefruit, this flavorful combination is sure to satisfy!

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sheet Cake with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting

The perfect breakfast…er, because grapefruit is great for breakfast, am I right?

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

This cake is wonderfully dense and moist. The batter is very wet resulting in an almost brownie like cake.

It has a delightful citrus flavor that is clearly grapefruit. There’s no mistaking it for orange, lemon, or lime. It has a unique, mild grapefruit flavor. It’s actually a refreshing cake flavor that you grow to like more and more with every bite!

I smothered this cake in a smooth cream cheese frosting that has a kiss of grapefruit flavor. I used a basic Cream Cheese Frosting and added one tablespoon grapefruit zest to it. However, if you think this is too much grapefruit, you may choose to frost simply with the cream cheese frosting. You really can’t beat the classic!

Fresh grapefruit is available to me all year, so I consider this a year-round dessert. It makes a memorable and pretty cake for birthday celebrations as well as potlucks or entertaining.

Tips

1. I recommend using real butter and not margarine.
2. You can substitute sour cream or Greek yogurt for the buttermilk. You’ll use 1/2 cup for substitutions.
3. Additionally, you can use a plain cream cheese frosting, like my Best Cream Cheese Frosting, if you’re concerned with grapefruit overload.
4. You may also consider adding 1 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds to the cake batter.

Print Recipe

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sheet Cake with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting

Ruby Red Grapefruit Sheet Cake with Grapefruit Cream Cheese Frosting is a wonderfully dense, moist cake with a unique grapefruit flavor.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time45 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American/Southern

Keyword: cake

Servings: 15 servings

Calories: 518kcal

Author: Paula Jones

Ingredients

CAKE

• 1 ruby red grapefruit 3 tablespoon zest, divided, and 1/2 cup juice from grapefruit. You will use 2 tablespoons zest in the cake and 1 tablespoon in the frosting.
• 1 cup butter melted
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

FROSTING

• 8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 cup butter at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners sugar
• *1 tablespoon grapefruit zest from 3 tablespoons listed above

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Spray a 9x13 inch sheet pan with non-stick spray or spread a thin layer of vegetable shortening inside the pan.
• Stir together the melted butter, 2 tablespoons grapefruit zest, and water.
• In another bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk to combine.
• Add buttermilk, 1/2 cup grapefruit juice, eggs, extract, and butter mixture.
• Stir to combine.
• Pour batter into the prepared 9x13 inch pan.
• Bake 25 to 32 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool 1 hour before frosting.
• FROSTING
• In the bowl of a mixture, combine cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy.
• Slowly add sugar.
• When sugar is incorporated, add 1 tablespoon grapefruit zest.
• Spread evenly over cool cake.
• Store in the refrigerator.

Notes

Recipe from Paula @CallMePMc.com All images and content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission that includes copying the ingredient list or entire recipe and posting in the comments on Pinterest for Facebook. If you want to share this recipe, please simply link back to this post for the recipe.

Nutrition

Calories: 518kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 88mg | Sodium: 380mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 59g | Vitamin A: 815IU | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1mg

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You can also find great recipes here or at Meal Plan Monday or Weekend Potluck.

You may also like my Grapefruit Mojito recipe!