The Brown Derby's Grapefruit Cake

Frosting and a layer of grapefruit chucks are sandwiched in the middle of the cake.

I saw this on TV and had to do a dive into the internet to find the recipe. She’s cute and certainly very citrusy and fresh.

To supreme a citrus fruit is cutting between the membranes. It makes for a more tender bite.

Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake

2 grapefruits

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3/4 cups sugar 

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1/4 cup vegetable oil 

1/4 cup water

3 eggs, separated

3 tablespoons grapefruit juice

1/2 teaspoon grapefruit zest

3 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

FROSTING

16 oz cream cheese 

1 tablespoon grapefruit juice

1  tablespoon grapefruit zest

1 cup powdered sugar

Wash and zest the grapefruits. Supreme them, squeeze the juice from the membrane to get a total ¼ cup juice. Lay the grapefruit segments on absorbent towels and refrigerate while you prepare the cake. 

Preheat the oven 350 degrees. 1 9-inch pan. Sprayed and lined with parchment. You will split this layer in half. 

In a bowl sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Combine in a second bowl: oil, water, 3 egg yolks, 3 tablespoons grapefruit juice, and ½ teaspoon grapefruit zest.  Mix until well Blended. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until just combined.

In another bowl of a stand mixer whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar until you have firm peaks. Fold the cake batter into the egg whites gently until no white streaks show.  pour into the prepared pan.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a tester inserted comes out clean. Cool completely. 

FROSTING: In the bowl of a stand mixer cream the cream cheese until smooth, scraping the sides.  and the remaining ingredients and whip until  it is smooth and creamy. 

ASSEMBLING: Evenly split the cooled cake layer in half. Top with ⅓ of the cream cheese  frosting. Reserving the 8 best looking grapefruit segments, cut the remaining fruit into chunks and layer them on top of the cream cheese frosting in the center of the cake. Top with the second layer of cake. Frost the top and sides of the cake. Arrange the grapefruit segments prettily on top of the cake, chill and serve the same day.

This is a chiffon cake which means the eggs are separated, the whites are whipped to peaks and folded into the batter. Also, it uses oil, not butter. Chiffon cakes were all the rage in mid 20th century America. Stands to reason the Brown Derby would have a very popular chiffon cake on the menu.

TBH- I didn’t convert this to metric because I will likely not make this recipe again. I love the concept and if time is willing I’ll do my own take on the whole thing next time.