Light and refreshing grapefruit greek yogurt cake is simple to prepare and drizzled with a grapefruit glaze. Made with creamy yogurt, fresh grapefruit juice, and sweet brown sugar, the flavor and texture are both incredible.
We’re having cake for breakfast and rearranging the way we eat grapefruit and yogurt every morning.
I don’t actually eat grapefruit and yogurt (or, sadly, cake) most mornings, but if you slapped a thick slice of this grapefruit greek yogurt cake on my plate, I wouldn’t fight it. Today’s citrus cake is a little different from my lemon berry yogurt cake. This one is softer and more cakey, while the latter is more buttery and creamy. I dare you to resist eating only 1 slice!
This Grapefruit Greek Yogurt Cake Is:
- Extra moist
- Light and refreshing
- Made with creamy greek yogurt
- Super flavorful
- A perfect balance of sweet and tart
- Delicious for breakfast, a snack, or dessert
- Prepared without a mixer
- Really easy to make—only 2 bowls needed
- Baked in a loaf pan (just like lemon pound cake)
- Topped with grapefruit glaze
- A quick recipe—from mixing bowl to oven in 10 minutes!
Ingredients in Grapefruit Greek Yogurt Cake
I love recipes that call for simple, flavorful ingredients. Let’s review what you’ll need for this grapefruit cake:
- Flour: Sturdy all-purpose flour is the base of this cake.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder helps the cake rise.
- Salt: Salt adds flavor.
- Eggs: 3 eggs add structure and richness.
- Yogurt: Greek yogurt helps create a rich and super moist crumb. I use plain nonfat greek yogurt. You can use low fat or full fat instead. Vanilla, honey, or any citrus flavors would work wonderfully, too!
- Brown Sugar: We use all brown sugar for sweetness and an added layer of flavor.
- Oil: Instead of butter, we use oil for moisture. It creates a cake that’s lighter in texture, not quite as dense or heavy. Use vegetable, canola, or even coconut oil. And since we’re not creaming butter, we can skip the mixer!
- Grapefruit Zest + Juice: You’ll use both grapefruit zest and fresh grapefruit juice in this cake. 1/2 of a grapefruit will give you around 1/4 cup of juice and 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons of zest.
- Vanilla Extract + Vanilla Bean Seeds: Pure vanilla extract and seeds scraped from 1/2 of a vanilla bean add mega flavor. When paired with grapefruit, it’s exquisite.
Helpful tip: When zesting your grapefruit, make sure you only grate the pretty rosy yellow part as the white pith is very bitter. Since we’re using both the juice and the zest, zest the grapefruit first, then cut the grapefruit in half and juice it. Expose that bright ruby red center!
Grapefruit Glaze
Without glaze, this would just be a moist bread. And cake sounds so much better—and looks prettier, too! While this sweet and tangy grapefruit cake doesn’t really need a glaze, we’ve never turned down a little something extra.
This simple grapefruit glaze adds even more grapefruit flavor. It comes together quickly and easily with 3 ingredients: confectioners’ sugar, pure vanilla extract, and fresh grapefruit juice (use the remaining grapefruit half). I just love the amplified flavor of a good fruit glaze.
The glaze hardens after several minutes—the bites with hardened glaze are my favorite!
More Simple Cake Recipes
- Pound Cake
- Angel Food Cake
- Lemon Pound Cake
- Lemon Berry Yogurt Cake
- Mini Vanilla Pound Cakes
- Marble Loaf Cake
- Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake
Grapefruit Greek Yogurt Cake
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: 1 loaf
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Unbelievably moist grapefruit loaf made with Greek yogurt and fresh grapefruit juice. The flavor and texture are both incredible!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (190g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (180g) Greek yogurt*
- 1 cup (200g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable or canola oil (melted + slightly cooled coconut oil works too)
- 1/4 cup (60ml) freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons grapefruit zest
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- seeds scraped from 1/2 of a vanilla bean
Grapefruit Glaze
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) freshly squeezed grapefruit juice, strained
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan.
- Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Once combined, whisk in the yogurt, brown sugar, oil, grapefruit juice, zest, vanilla extract, and seeds. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a large wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. Avoid overmixing.
- Spread batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to cool before drizzling with glaze.
- For the glaze, simply whisk the ingredients together and drizzle over cake. Slice and serve. Cover and store leftover cake at room temperature for up to 5 days. I love it cold, so you can store it in the refrigerator too!
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: Cake freezes well for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Wooden Spoon or Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack | Zester | Citrus Juicer
- Muffins/Cupcakes: Prepare batter as instructed. Grease a 12-count muffin pan or use liners. Fill with batter all the way to the top. Bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before serving. Top with glaze. Makes about 12 muffins.
- Square or Round Cake: This batter will fit into a 9-inch square baking pan or a 9-inch springform pan (it will be too tall for a regular 9-inch round cake pan). Bake at 350°F (177°C) for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool and top with glaze.
- Greek Yogurt: I use plain nonfat Greek yogurt. You can use low fat or full fat instead. Vanilla, honey, or any citrus flavors would work wonderfully here!
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally, This was a great wonderful flavor Very moist. Peter
Fantastic! I love this cake. Simple and delicious I love the tartness like a lemon cake with a twist.I’ve used many of your recipes and they are always easy to follow. Thank you I’m a skeptical baker and have such great success with your recipes.
I loved the lemon pound cake recipe. Thought this might be in line with that. I made it gluten free as I had with the lemon recipe. I threw this one out. It wasn’t a strong citrus flavor but I can also say I don’t like grapefruit. I was given one and thought I would do something with it. It was definitely not as moist as the other recipe (I always short the flour when converting to gf). I think I should’ve just made the pound cake recipe with the grapefruit instead to say if I really hated grapefruit. Haha….
The taste was good but mine deflated somewhat after a few minutes after it came out of the oven so I’m wondering if it needs a little bit of baking soda in it as well to help hold the structure?
Hi Diane, usually when loaf cakes deflate, the cake has been under-baked. Did you use a toothpick to test for doneness?
Can I substitute olive oil for oil in recipe? Also, can I substitute whole wheat flour for part or all of flour in this recipe? My diet is now Mediterranean for my health. Thank you m
Hi Pam, you can use olive oil here, but we don’t recommend whole wheat flour. The bread will be quite heavy and dense. If you wish, you could try swapping half the flour for whole wheat flour and then adjusting further for future batches.
Hello Sally!
Can you substitute oranges for the grapefruit? If so, what adjustments would you make? Ty!
Hi! Yes, you absolutely can. Same amount of juice and zest.
Can l make this with orange zest and O J
Can’t see why not, John!
Thank you for another batch of great recipes, many have become family favourites. Is it possible to change the grapefruit for lemon? I love the idea of the cake but my husband can not eat grapefruit.
Hi Skyla, you can definitely use lemon juice in this recipe!
Wow!!! So yummy.
I make this cake a couple of times a month and take to work. It is amazing – moist and packed with flavor and it usually does not last more then a few minutes.
I made this with the zest of 2 oranges and orange juice instead of grapefruit and it was amazing!! so soft and moist and delicious.
So delicious! We have fresh Texas grapefruit and I wanted to make something other than the Palomas that I’ve been drinking and this cake was perfect. Citrusy, light and just yummy!
This a perfect cake for morning coffee or a brunch table. I made it in a 6-cup swirled Bundt pan which was the perfect size. I drizzled the glaze down each swirl and it made a lovely presentation.
OMG! I made this recipe into cupcakes this morning. I juiced some grapefruits I had to pick before the first snow came. Found your recipe, made cupcakes, sub the oil for coconut oil, sub vanilla for pure vanilla paste since it has seeds, used Serve brown sugar replacement and made a very lite glaze cutting that recipe in half. The results were fantastic. I have lemon and orange trees as well and will always use this recipe for my citrus cutting the sugar which you will not even miss. The flavor of fresh grapefruit is out of this world. Thank you so much for this recipe. Love Love it. This should have 10 stars.
This is the first time I’m writing a review of a recipe, ever! I have tried many of Sally’s since she uses the metric system and I’m in Europe, and they are basically all foolproof.
This one, however, it’s brilliant in its simplicity. Perfectly perfect, never failed me, customisable and a crowd pleaser.
I never make it with citrus, I just swap the juice for milk and it works wonderfully.
I have made the base of this recipe into a cinnamon apple loaf, a chocolate chip loaf, a vanilla and tonka bean loaf. Every variation has been equally delicious, I have one cooking in the oven right now.
Thank you for your fantastic work Sally, over and over again!
This was a great bread with wonderful flavor. Very moist.
Could you add sourdough discard to the wet ingredients and if so, how much would you add?
Hi Jim, we’re so glad you enjoyed this recipe! We haven’t tested this recipe with sourdough, but let us know if you try anything.
Sourdough starter or discard can be used in any recipe that is made with flour and liquid. For every 30 grams of sourdough discard withhold 15 grams of flour and liquid.
Very yummy cake! Shame it uses so few grapefruits.
Could I replace the grapefruit with fresh oranges and use olive oil in this recipe?
Hi Marilyn, you can try with those swaps, although the taste will be a bit different with the use of olive oil (and oranges, of course). Let us know how it goes for you.
Great citrus recipe for all my local Florida produce. I substitute half the oil with olive oil and it’s amazing. Moist cake with a fine crumb and crispy edges.
I was wondering if substituting sugar with honey could be an option?
I’m so looking forward to try this recipe!
Hi Cynthia, we haven’t tested the recipe with honey, and so can’t give you a definite answer, but using a wet ingredient like honey to replace the sugar would likely change the consistency of the batter. If you try it, start by replacing just a little of the sugar with a little honey, and see how that turns out. Hope this helps!
Hi! Looking for an oil based cake recipe, that’s light and fluffy, just like these photos! However, I want to make it a lemon cake. (I’ve already looked at your other lemon cake recipes, this one is my favourite) Cake I use the same amount of lemon juice instead of grapefruit juice? will it taste “lemony” enough?
Hi Jane, you can definitely use lemon juice in this recipe!
We were given some grapefruit, which we typically don’t eat, and this is the only way to eat grapefruit in my opinion! I halved the sugar and swapped for wholemeal flour (ran out of plain). Halving the icing sugar obviously made the glaze much thinner, it was more like a syrup. I just brushed a small amount over the top with a pastry brush. Very yummy 🙂
Amazing recipe, thank you!
Surprisingly good!! My husband always buys oranges and accidentally bought grapefruit, oops! Neither of us care for grapefruit…….so I looked on Pinterest for recipes instead of just tossing them out. What a surprise, this recipe was amazing!! Definitely will make again, very lite and refreshing!!
First, I love your website, Sally! I (like many others) came across it as I explored baking during the pandemic. I’m at a novice baker and LOVE your recipes! They are accessible and approachable and make me feel like I can bake any of them! We had a lot of grapefruits gifted to us and I wanted to see if there’s anything I could use them for. Your loaf recipe was DELICIOUS! I used coconut oil and I might not use it if I make this again because it got clumpy as I added in cooler ingredients. I also did not add vanilla bean but I did add the extra vanilla extract as you suggested in a comment. I may have had a little bit less zest (like maybe only a tablespoon) because I forgot to zest one of the grapefruits before I juiced it. I did use an 8×4 loaf pan and it still came out lovely. My whole family LOVED it! Especially my husband (who doesn’t really care for lemon cakes or anything with confectioners sugar lol)! After we made it today, there’s only a quarter of the loaf left! This is definitely a keeper and a recipe worth trying! Thank you so much for sharing your love of baking with us!
Hi Fayanne, thank you so much for your kind note! We’re so glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying our recipes. Many readers have used grapefruit in these lemon bars — see recipe notes there for details on how to substitute for the lemon. Hope you enjoy they just as much!
Saw this and thought ‘urrgh’ grapefruit and yogurt loaf! Sounds yucky!
However the more I thought about this the more I wanted to give it a go, do I have 🙂 and WOW! It really works well and I’m about to make another one (first lasted 20 mins lol)
I didn’t have soft brown sugar so used demarara instead , and didn’t use pods as don’t have , just the essence .
Cooked for 45 min and toothpick came out clean . Once cooled and drizzle done , I gave it a try and was very surprised how tasty and nice it is!! Number two about to be made 🙂 awesome 🙂
I baked these as donuts and they are amazing! Same temp but for 10-12 minutes with the rings about 3/4 full. Made about 18. Thanks for a great recipe!!
hi i’m sorry but this just turned out so bad – the cake was stodgy and raw in the middle, but burnt on the top and the outside, even when i put tinfoil on top to try and protect the face of the cake. i followed all the instructions and i just don’t know what went wrong…
I am also sorry I share the same result with Dianne. Somehow my cake didn’t rise as much and the texture is dense, not fluffy. I don’t know what went wrong either.
I baked this in an 8×4 loaf pan, and it had a lovely rounded, domed top, instead of the flatter results with a 9×5 loaf pan. It took 60 minutes @ 350F. I also topped it with chopped candied ginger & course sugar and skipped the glaze, which holds up better if freezing for later use. The grapefruit flavor is subtle, but it was a lovely moist and sweet loaf.
Love this receipt! I was given a bag of grapefruit from a friend so thought I’d try this recipe and I love it! I now use it as a base for a lemon cake as I love the texture! It’s delicious! Thank you!
Excellent and easy to make
Hi Sally, I’ve been trying a few of your recipes and my family loves each of them! Wanted to try this as we like grapefruits but can I replace half the oil with applesauce and bake in a 8×4 inch loaf tin instead?
Hi Serena! We haven’t tested replacing half the oil with applesauce, but that swap will likely change the texture of this yogurt cake. Your smaller pan should work OK, but the bake time will be longer. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Enjoy!
Thanks for the tips! Loved the simplicity of this cake.
I substituted unsweetened applesauce for the oil and it worked great.