Pound Cake with grapefruit glaze

My mom is pretty convinced that I am this close to being diagnosed with diabetes. She has begged me to stop baking for my own good before the decision to stop eating sweets is taken away from me. I tried. I really did. I just don’t get the same thrill cooking as I do when I bake.  So I’ve just taken to baking without letting her find out.  The only problem is that I can’t hide that extra 10 – 15 pounds I’ve gained from “taste testing” the goods.

Having to taste test this recipe was tough.  Sweet tart grapefruity goodness.  Dense.  Rich.  Just my kind of dessert.  Or it would be if I partook of this.  But I wouldn’t think of it.  My mom would kill me and I wouldn’t have to worry about diabetes.

In an effort to appease my mother’s concern I’ve taken up eating grapefruits instead.  Low in sugar compared to other fruits, I thought that this would be the ideal fruit to use.  [Let’s ignore the fact that I added a ton of sugar to the grapefruit juice for the glaze] 

Pound Cake:
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups sifted cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tablespoon finely grated grapefruit zest
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 300  degrees.  Butter & flour pans.

Combine butter and 3 cups of sugar until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one by one, beating thoroughly until well blended.  Beat in vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour and baking powder. Add zest, mix well.  Beat flour mixture into butter mixture, alternating with buttermilk.  Be sure to scrape down sides of bowl every so often to combine.

Pour batter into pans.  Bake until golden brown and you can poke a wooden skewer into the cake and it comes out crumb free [for loaf pans, approximately and 60 minutes; for bundt pan approximately 90 minutes]

Transfer cake in pan to wire rack.  Poke cake through in several places using wooden skewer.  Brush with half the glaze [recipe below].  Keep in pan for approximately 10 minutes, then release and brush cake with remaining glaze.

Grapefruit Glaze [i used an Oro Blanco so used less sugar, same for ruby red]
1/2 cup grapefruit juice
1/2 cup sugar or to taste

Hide cake from mom and enjoy!