Grapefruit olive oil cake is a moist single layer cake with fresh grapefruit and lemon, cinnamon and orange blossom cream cheese glaze. This delightful cake recipe is made with one bowl and comes together in no time!
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Olive oil grapefruit cake with is moist, soft, and fluffy. Grapefruit and olive oil add loads of fresh, fruity flavor. It’s topped with a luscious orange blossom water cream cheese frosting.
I adapted this recipe from my olive oil blood orange cake.
For more citrus desserts, try this rosemary lemon olive oil cake and cardamom and orange cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Rich and Moist– Olive oil makes the cake super soft and helps it stay moist for days just like my my viral olive oil pumpkin cake.
- Fresh and Delicious- Grapefruit and olive oil are delicious together. They both add so much fresh, fruity flavor.
- One Bowl Recipe– No special equipment needed. Just mix the cake batter up and bake it!
- Perfect for any occasion– Whether you’re looking for a tasty treat for weeknights or small gatherings, this recipe is perfect for all occasions! You can also double the recipe for bigger crowds!
Ingredients
Here are some useful notes on some of the ingredients.
- Olive oil: Use a good quality extra virgin olive oil. Olive oil provides moisture and flavor like in my olive oil apple cake.
- Eggs: Use 2 large, room temperature eggs.
- Grapefruit: You’ll need the zest of 1 medium grapefruit plus 1 tablespoon of juice. Fresh grapefruit also makes my grapefruit cookie recipe citrusy and delicious!
- Lemon zest: Use the zest of 1 lemon. Lemon enhances the citrusy flavor just like my lemon and lime bars.
- Cinnamon: The cake doesn’t taste like cinnamon, but cinnamon adds to the overall flavor.
- Orange blossom water: The frosting is flavored with a hint of orange blossom water. It has a floral, citrusy flavor and pairs so well with the grapefruit and olive oil. Orange blossom water is optional, but I recommend it. We’re only using a small amount so that it doesn’t overpower the other flavors.
- Greek yogurt: Use plain, full fat, room temperature Greek yogurt.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar thickens and sweetens the frosting.
- Cream cheese: Use brick style, full fat cream cheese for the frosting.
- Butter: Unsalted room temperature butter for the frosting.
Please see recipe card for a full list of ingredients and their measurements.
Substitutions & Variations
- Swap in canola or vegetable oil in place of olive oil.
- Add some toasted, chopped nuts to the cake batter or sprinkle some on top of the frosting.
- Golden raisins would also be a delicious addition to the cake.
- Instead of orange blossom water, flavor the frosting with grapefruit zest or vanilla extract.
Step 1: (Photo 1 above) In a large mixing bowl, mix the sugar with the orange and lemon zest or use your fingertips to rub the zest into the sugar.
Step 2: (Photo 2 above) Add the eggs and whisk til light and fluffy. Whisk in the sour cream, lemon and grapefruit juice and olive oil. Stir in the flour, cinnamon, salt and baking powder.
Step 3: (Photo 3 above) Pour mixture into an 8 or 9 inch round pan. Bake at 350 Fahrenheit oven for 30-35 minutes. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
Step 4: (Photo 4 above) Beat the butter, cream cheese, and powdered sugar on low speed. Add the orange blossom water 1/2 teaspoon at a time, according to taste. Frost the cake. Top with extra grapefruit zest, if you like!
Recipe FAQs
Use good quality extra virgin olive oil.
You should get around 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons of zest from one grapefruit.
Store the unfrosted grapefruit yogurt cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. Once frosted, store leftovers in the refrigerator. Freeze unfrosted cake in an airtight container for up to 2 months.
Expert Tips
- Spoon flour into your measuring cup. If you dredge the measuring cup in the flour, the flour will become compact. This can lead to a dry cake. For the most accurate way to measure flour, use a kitchen scale.
- Use room temperature ingredients. Room temperature ingredients come together more easily.
- Zest the grapefruit before juicing it. It’s much easier to zest when it’s still whole. I recommend a microplane for zesting. Avoid grating the white part of peel.
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Grapefruit Olive Oil Cake
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons grapefruit zest from about 1 medium grapefruit
- ½ tablespoon lemon zest from about ½ a lemon
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- ½ cup (115 g) Greek yogurt plain, full fat, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (14.79 ml) grapefruit juice
- 1 tablespoon (14.79 ml) lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (118.29 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 ¼ cups (156.25 g) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
Orange Blossom Water Cream Cheese Frosting
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) cream cheese brick style, full fat, room temperature
- 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
- 1½ teaspoons orange blossom water or to taste, or swap in grapefruit zest or vanilla
Instructions
- Spray an 8 or 9 inch round cake pan with baking spray. Line with a round of parchment paper. Lightly spray the parchment paper with baking spray. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the grapefruit zest, lemon zest and sugar. Rub the zest into the sugar with your fingertips or combine with a whisk or electric mixer til just combined. This will bring out the flavor of the citrus.
- Add the eggs to the sugar mixture. Whisk til light and fluffy.
- Whisk in the Greek yogurt, vanilla extract (if using), grapefruit juice and lemon juice. Whisk in the olive oil til combined.
- Add the the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt to the wet ingredients. Stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Spread evenly with a spatula or offset spatula. Bake 23-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake.
- Place the cake pan on a wire rack to cool 15 minutes then run a knife along the edge of the pan to make sure it is not sticking. Turn out of pan on to a wire rack to cool completely.
Orange Blossom Water Cream Cheese Frosting
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer, mix together the room temperature butter, room temperature cream cheese, and powdered sugar on low speed. Slowly increase the speed to medium. Mix til smooth and free of any lumps.
- Add the orange blossom water 1/2 teaspoon at a time, according to taste. (I recommend using between 1 teaspoon to 1½ teaspoons. Alternatively you can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla and/or a little grapefruit zest in place of orange blossom water).
- Spread it on top of the cooled cake. Zest a little extra grapefruit zest on top before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that nutritional values are created by an online calculator and should only be used as an estimate.
Maryse
I made it today and it was absolutely delicious! I didn’t have any cream cheese, so I topped it with a lemon syrup instead, but it went fine too.
The texture of the cake was perfect, the cake was moist, flavor was there and the whole family loved it!
I love this blog so much: it’s beautiful, neat, the pictures are gorgeous, the explanations are clear and the measurements are precise (I’m from Europe, so we don’t use cups and spoons).
The only thing missing is a cookbook.:-)
On to the next cake!
Natalie Ward
Oh my goodness, thank you Maryse! I’m so glad you and your family enjoyed this cake! Lemon syrup sounds like a yummy idea and I appreciate your kind words and feedback about the recipe and my blog! I’m excited to hear what you bake up next and hope I can get a cookbook out there for you too! Have a wonderful week! XO