BETWEEN WINTER AND SPRING: GINGER AND PINK GRAPEFRUIT TEA BREAD

It’s that time of year when winter teases us with warm and sunny days when we can sit outside in the sun and think of working in our gardens. And then the cold air blasts back in and once again the skies are grey.  Why does it always seem so much colder?

I, for one, am done with hearty winter foods.  I crave green salads and bright flavors. I think of citrus fruits with their acid bite and vibrant colors.  Pink grapefruit is one of my favorites.  I eat them like oranges, peeled and in slices. I eat them all winter long from December to March and then I put them aside in favor of the fruits of spring and summer.

But I also crave carbs. So I put the two together in sweet and spicy ginger and pink grapefruit tea bread which can be eaten for breakfast, for an afternoon snack or even with ice cream for dessert.

The recipe uses a technique for flavoring sugar which can used with other citrus fruits to add flavor and acid to baked goods.

Finely zest a grapefruit and add the zest to a cup of sugar, using your fingers to rub it in until the sugar starts to come together and it smells wonderful.

Once the sugar is ready, add eggs, butter and vanilla and whisk it together until it light in color and very thick.

Add the dry ingredients, then the sour cream and grapefruit juice.

Finally, fold in some finely diced candied ginger.

Grease a loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Spread the batter in the pan smooth the top and finish with a sprinkling of a little more of the grapefruit sugar.

If you like you can make a topping for the tea bread with some powdered sugar, grapefruit juice and sour cream.

And then sit back and look out the window at the rain coming down and enjoy the taste of sunshine in your mouth.

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GINGER AND PINK GRAPEFRUIT TEA BREAD

Author Susan Murray, www.awomancooksinasheville.com

Ingredients

For the tea bread

• I small grapefruit
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 ½ cup flour
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¾ tsp salt
• ¾ cup sour cream

For the topping

• ½ cup powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• 1 ½ tbsp grapefruit juice

Instructions

For the bread

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and line an 8” loaf pan.
2. Finely zest the grapefruit. Add the zest to one cup of sugar and work it together with your fingers until it is well incorporated. Set aside 1 tbsp of the sugar.
3. Whisk together the remaining sugar with the eggs, butter and vanilla. Beat on medium speed for four to five minutes until it is light in color and thick.
4. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients.
5. Juice the grapefruit and whisk the juice together with the sour cream. (you should have about ¾ cup of grapefruit juice).
6. Add half the dry ingredients to the egg and butter mixture. Once this is just mixed in add half the grapefruit juice and sour cream mixture. Repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
7. Fold in the ginger.
8. Put the batter in the prepared loaf pan, smooth the top and sprinkle with the reserved sugar.
9. Bake for 50-60 minutes until the bread springs back when touched and a tester comes out clean.
10. Lift the cake out of the pan by the parchment paper and place on a cooking rack.

For the topping.

1. Prepare the topping by stirring together the icing sugar, juice and sour cream until smooth. Drizzle over the tea bread.
2. Allow the bread to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.