Grapefruit Poppy Seed Cake with Bay Leaf Glaze: Bundt-Muffins and a Loaf!
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I don’t know about you, but it has a been a week over here! Last week, I went to plug my external hard drive into my computer and it started making a very suspect clicking noise. It refused to show up on my computer and when I tell you that my heart dropped into my stomach, I am not exaggerating. I spent the next few hours unsuccessfully trying to get my computer to read my hard drive, followed by a few days of anxious hand-wringing and lots of tears. Friends, it’s gone. My pictures from the last three years. All of the typed copies of my recipes. Invoices and business information. It’s all gone. (I’m still planning on sending my hard drive away to a magical technologically-advanced person in hopes that they can recover all of my data, but that’s a pricey expense, so at least for now, it’s all gone.) It’s been a lot to wrap my head around and part of me feels a little like I’m starting over completely, which is a very scary thing. I’m very thankful that I run this here blog, where all of my recipes are saved on the internet. I’m also thankful that I have a plethora of notebooks full of scribbled recipes. I’m extra thankful that I’d already uploaded a bunch of images for the freelance projects I was working on and that I use a design website for a lot of my invoicing. All of that being said, losing all that you’ve created over the past three years is very emotionally-taxing and calls for cake.
So I’ve been trying to focus on things I can control, prying my eyes away from my computer and getting back to baking new things. These cute little bundt-muffins have been the perfect distraction this week. I set out to make little bundt cakes, but slightly over-filled my molds. When I took the cakes out of the oven, they had risen into perfect little muffin tops that I couldn’t bear to get rid of, so here we have bundt-muffins—the newest breakfast cake you didn’t know you needed. This cake recipe is also the most versatile I’ve ever made. In addition to 12 little bundt-muffins, it makes an entire loaf cake. Or you can make a bunch of bundt-muffins and no loaf cake. Or you can make two loaf cakes! Or you can make just plain muffins, no bundt. Or you can even try baking it in a 9x13 pan! SO MANY OPTIONS. Whatever combination brings you the most joy, I’m here for it.
A few practical notes: You can sub the grapefruit for any citrus you have on hand and the bay leaves for another hearty herb or flower. While I love the grapefruit-bay leaf flavor combo, a lemon rosemary pairing would be delightful, as would an orange-bay leaf or lime-coconut duo. As always with my recipes, I encourage you to play around a bit.
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Grapefruit and Poppy Seed Baby Bundt-Muffins (+ Loaf) with Bay Leaf Glaze
Ingredients
- 1 cup +2 tbsp (250 g) buttermilk
- 1/2 cup (130 g) whole-milk greek yogurt
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/3 cup (280 g) granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- Juice of 1/2 of a large grapefruit
- Zest of a whole large grapefruit
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 2/3 cup + 1 tbsp (460 g) all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 bay leaves (dried)
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) powdered sugar
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400° F. Grease 12 miniature bundt pans with butter and dust with flour. Grease a loaf pan and line with parchment paper.
- In a large measuring cup, stir together buttermilk and yogurt. Add baking soda and set aside while you prepare the rest of the batter. (The mixture will get foamy, it’s just the acid reacting with the baking soda.)
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and poppy seeds. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter and sugar. Beat for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy. Add the grapefruit zest and vanilla and mix again to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, followed by the grapefruit juice.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk in 3:2 increments- 1/3 dry, 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 dry, 1/2 buttermilk, 1/3 dry. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and fold batter a few times with a rubber spatula to ensure that the mixture is combined and homogenous.
- Place just under 1/2 of the batter into a piping bag and pipe into the prepared bundt pans, filling 2/3 full. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown, and then cool for 5 minutes in the pan before turning out onto a cooling rack.
- While the miniature bundts are baking, pour the remaining batter into the loaf pan and smooth with an offset spatula.
- Turn the oven temperature down to 350°F and bake the loaf for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20-30 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.
- Combine heavy cream and bay leaves in a small saucepan. Turn heat to medium low and bring cream to a simmer. When hot and just starting to bubble, remove the cream from the stove and cover. Let steep for 30 minutes, then strain out bay leaves.
- Place powdered sugar and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in 6-8 tablespoons of the steeped cream, adding more by the tablespoon to reach your desired consistency. Drizzle over muffins and loaf immediately.
Notes:
You can sub the grapefruit for any citrus you have on hand and the bay leaves for another hearty herb or flower. While I love the grapefruit-bay leaf flavor combo, a lemon rosemary pairing would be delightful, as would an orange-bay leaf or lime-coconut duo. As always with my recipes, I encourage you to play around a bit.
