Skillet Grapefruit Upside-Down Cake

Dessert Baking Breakfast & Brunch

Drink it or eat it, but get some Vitamin C however you can! Citrusy, not too sweet, and with a slight crunch from the cornmeal, this moist cake takes advantage of our favorite sweet red grapefruits, Texas Rio Star. Plus, the sunny color is sure to be uplifting in these dark days of winter.

By Teresa Blackburn / Photography By Teresa Blackburn | January 03, 2021

Ingredients

2 sticks butter, softened, divided
2/3 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 Texas Rio Star grapefruits
1/2 cup flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup raw turbinado sugar
4 eggs
1 tablespoon grated Texas Rio Star grapefruit peel
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Melt 1/2 stick butter in 10-inch iron skillet. Remove from heat. Add dark brown sugar and lemon juice and stir together. Set aside.

2. Slice top and bottom off each grapefruit. Cut peel and pith away, then cut each grapefruit into 1/4" circles. Remove any seeds.

3. Arrange grapefruit slices over sugar mixture in skillet.

4. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat remaining butter and raw sugar with mixer. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well between each addition. In another bowl, combine zest, yogurt, and vanilla.

5. Alternately, add flour mixture and yogurt mixture to butter mixture until combined. Batter will be thick. Scrape batter into skillet over grapefruit slices.

6. Bake 40-45 minutes until center is set and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool for a few minutes in pan. Invert cake upside-down on large plate or platter and serve warm or room temperature.