3.7.17
I spoke too soon. As quickly as the season gave us a peek at the spring to come, it snatched it back and threw us windy freezing days with lows in the teens. However, that means citrus is still in season. These grapefruit loaves have a bright zing to go along with its herbaceous infused glaze. They’re so soft, and tease the boundary between breakfast and dessert. I made these twice and I have to be honest, I feel they had a better flavor with the grapefruit syrup. I felt the flavor was a little lost in the second round when I used grapefruit juice. Also if you’re a sage person, the smell of the infused milk will be heavenly. I bet it would be good in a black tea as well.
As of yesterday, I finally got my life back. After ten days straight of rehearsals/shows I finally have some time to myself. And our show is off and running, with a great opening night, and we’re all excited for the second weekend coming up. I made lemon-filled doughnuts to celebrate our opening, but I wasn’t able to snap any pictures. Guess I’ll have to just make them again.
Grapefruit & Sage Mini Loaves
Ingredients
For the Grapefruit Syrup
- 3 cups sugar
- 3 Tbsp grapefruit zest
- 3 cups water
For the Loaves
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/3 cup grapefruit syrup * + 1/2 cup syrup, divided
- 2 tsp baking powder
- zest from one grapefruit
- 1 cup sour cream
- splash vanilla
- 1/4 tsp salt
For the Glaze
- 1 bunch sage
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
Instructions
For the Syrup
- Mix together sugar and zest in medium bowl until the zest moistens the sugar and clumps up a bit
- Cover and allow to sit overnight to infuse
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together infused sugar and water until sugar dissolves
- Allow to cool, then pour through a sieve to catch zest, place in airtight container
- There will be plenty of left over, I’m sure cutting this recipe in half would be just fine, I’ve used extra syrup in cocktails!
For the Loaves
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a mini loaf pan
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt
- In a large bowl, whisk together sugars, eggs, 1/3 cup syrup, sour cream, and vanilla
- Whisk dry ingredients into wet and add in oil and zest, whisk until smooth
- Transfer batter to a cup with a spout for easier pour
- Pour batter into mini loaf pan
- Bake for around 27-30 minutes, until tester comes out of the center clean, the edges may brown a bit
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before placing on rack with wax paper underneath
- Pour more syrup over warm loaves (about 1/2 cup) and allow to cool completely
For the Glaze
- In a small saucepan over low-medium heat add in milk and half bunch of sage
- Allow to come to a simmer around the edge of pan
- Turn off heat and cover, and allow to steep for at least one hour
- Remove sage and allow to cool completely
- Repeat process again, and make sure it’s fully cooled before making actual glaze
- Mix together confectioners sugar and about 4-5 tablespoons of infused milk, stir together to create glaze
- Pour glaze over each loaf and enjoy!
P.S.
*I’d recommend using up to 1/2 cup syrup depending on how potent you’d like the flavor
