Grapefruit Dark Chocolate Cake,Celebrating Nabeel's Birthday



It was this time of the year with nature's beauty at its best, budding greenery ,blooming flowers and signs of new life everywhere,my darling boy was born.The joy of cuddling with precious new born was indescribable.Nabeel(meaning "noble") was a chubby baby with angelic eyes , reached his milestones crawling to walking earlier than an average baby.He was healthy toddler who always appeared bigger than his age.
Nevertheless his diagnosis of asthma,didn't stop from being a sportive kid,which he loved to be,plays soccer and has an amazing interest in Math and reading.
My noble prince turned 6 last week,more than the cake he was excited about the kiddie laptop which he was patiently waiting to be gifted,a very small price indeed considering all the pain and discomfort he went through after a recent asthma episode. With tears trickling even while I write this post,he never gives up his fight for the healthy life he deserves and bounces back each time with vigor of a fighter and charm of an angel.

Grapefruit Dark Chocolate ganache Cake
I was inspired by Muneeba's incredible Red orange yogurt cake ,but with no luck finding the red oranges,I used a similar citrusy grapefruit.With good quality dark chocolate ,that makes lot of difference ,not too sweet and the dose of antioxidants in the fruit and cocoa made this an incredibly good celebration cake.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup reduced fat or fat-free yogurt
1 cup grapefruit juice,freshly squeezed
2 teaspoon,zest of orange and\or grapefruit
3 large Organic eggs
1/2 cup brown or white sugar
1/2 cup Dark chocolate chips(I used ghirardelli 60% cocoa )
1/2 cup vegetable oil
For sprinkling on Cake
1/2 cup freshly squeeze grape fruit juice
2 tablespoon Orange blossom water
Ganache frosting
8 ounce semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips(I used ghirardelli 60% cocoa )
1 tablespoon Organic butter
3/4 cup Organic whole milk.

Nuts for coating the sides
1 cup nuts(Walnuts,almonds,macadamia nuts ,pecans or pistachios),finely chopped or coarsely processed

Method
Preheat the oven to 350 F.Grease 2 baking pans(8-inchs) with a non-stick cooking spray or little bit of butter and light sprinkle of all-purpose flour over the butter coating.
Prepare the batter
In mixing bowl,whisk the eggs for a minute combine with the sugar, oil ,yogurt,milk and juice.Set aside.In another large bowl,sift the dry ingredients flour,baking powder,soda and salt,mix in the chocolate chips.To the flour mixture slowly add the egg mixture,combine until smooth and well blended.
Bake
Pour the batter into the cake pans and bake about 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow to cool at room temperature.

sprinkle the Juice and blossom water
After the cakes are completely cooled.flip and lay each of then on a rack or clean cutting board.Sprinkle the mixture of juice and orange blossom water all over.Allow to soak up for 10 minutes.

Prepare the Ganache
Place the Chocolate chips in a glass or steel bowl. Heat the milk and butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling milk over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth.

Layer and frost the cake
Place one of the cake on a wire or metal rack placed on a clean plate to collect the drips.spread about 3 table spoons of the ganache over the top using a spatula.Place the other cake over the top,now pour the remaining ganache evenly all around the cake,allow to drip.The drips in the plate can be melted and used again in baking or to make chocolate truffles.
Coat the sides with nuts
Before the chocolate sets,take a tablespoon of nuts mixture at a time and stick them along the sides until coated all around the cake.

Garnish with fresh slices of grapefruit just before serving.Stays moist in a refrigerator for up to a week.



The special cake is my entry for Meeta's Monthly mingle :Spring cakes.

Comments

Jenny said…
WOW,love the frosting ideas.A superb looking spring cake.I wish your boy a very healthy life.
Vishali said…
Cake looks delicious Yasmeen. Wishing Nabeel a Very Happy Birthday and very healthy life too.
simmi said…
Stay strong mom,your angel will hopefully grow out of the condition.I know my boy did,thankfully.What a pretty cake,I'm inspired.
Renuka said…
wow...the cake is so tempting...
Belated Birthday Wishes for Nabeel :)
That cake looks awesome-I'm sure he's so proud of the fact that YOU made it for him!!
God bless the little prince.
Gita Jaishankar said…
A very Happy and Healthy Birthday to your little prince Yasmeen :) God is with us dear.
Parita said…
A very happy birthday to the little angel...the cake looks heavenly :)
FH said…
Happy birthday to your little Nabeel, I bet he was happy to dig into this and the kiddie PC! :)

Cake looks fabulous, love the little balls on top!
Lovely cake and belated wishes to your boy yasmeen.....cake is really tempting..
Ashwini said…
Belated Happy Birthday wishes to Nabeel. Cake looks awesome and yummy.
Lavanya said…
cake looks awesome..Belated happy bday wishes to Nabeel..
Indhu said…
yummy yummy cake... Belated Birthday wishes to Nabeel :)
syeda said…
Happy Birthday to Nabeel,Lotsd of hugs and kisses to the Birthday boy!
How is he doing now? Inshallah he will be fine,nothing is impossible for Allah to grant,so we can just pray!
BTW,do u use humidifier?
Yasmeen said…
My hearty thanks for all your well-wishes :).
Syeda,we do use cool mist humidifiers in peak winter when the heaters are in full use.
Finla said…
Happy b'day to your noble prince and that cake looks so so moist an dyummy.
sangeeta said…
belated birthday wishes n my blessings to nabeel.........mithi wishes him good health too.
the cake is truly exotic n very unusual combo for me.....i like orange cakes both with juice n marmalade but this is new ......orange flower water is wonderful..
.....the grapefruits in my garden are very tart n kind of sweet-sour...can they be used without making the cake like tart? also the rind of the fruit here causes burning n rashes on my skin , is it so with the Gfruits there too?..if yes how safe is the use of it's zest......i'll try googling that though....
Pooja said…
Belated wishes to Nabeel Yasmeen...Yummy cake..Looks Tempting..
Asthma is such a painful thing that lingers all the time with us... By the way how is Nabeel??? Hope he had a great 6th bday with this amazing cake and was he happy with the mini laptop??? Belated bday wishes to him...
Vikis Kitchen said…
My very best Birthday wishes and prayers for Nobeel. Good gift for the smart child. Cake looks amazing. Good job.
Chef Jeena said…
I bet your son loved this cake it looks wonderful such a great treat.

Great ingredients too, I love the combo of grapefruit and dark chocolate.
Archy said…
Wonderful cake with grape fruit an choco.. !! Nice pics !!
Manju said…
OMG!! mindblowing!! Happy Birthday to your kiddo...he must have had such a fun bday!!
Priya Suresh said…
My hearty birthday wishes to Nabeel, wish him a very healithy life..thats a gorgeous and fabulous grapefruit choco cake yasmeen..
Vibaas said…
Wow! That's a cute cake! Awesome! Belated wishes to the Prince! :)
lubnakarim06 said…
Happy B'day sweetie.....May Allahtala shower his choicest blessings on the sweet boy and give much more strength to the loving mom of the boy to stand strong. Ameen! Cake looks perfect for the occasion....Love the mixed flavours...Yum...
Cham said…
Happy Birthday to Nabeel, I wish he should outgrow soon and wishing him a very good health too! Lovely cake!
Ammu said…
Lovely cake. B'day wishes to nabeel. Hope he had nice time.
Yasemin said…
Yay! And happy birthday to your litle angel. This looks so great and I love how we know it's grapefruit as Ina Garten would say :) Love you sweetie.
Unknown said…
nice post..cake looks delicious..
Shama Nagarajan said…
Belated wishes to him ......warm hugs and wishes to him......yummy yummy cake dear
Anonymous said…
Happy belated birthday to Nabeel! What a gorgeous cake! I love the idea of grapefruit and chocolate flavor!

My daughter's got asthma too and we hope she outgrows it. Lots of spring allergies that are triggers right now but the allegy medicine helps for sure.
Yasmeen said…
Thank you dearies for the kind wishes.Nabeel sure was happy to read the birthday wishes:)
Sangeeta,never heard about allergies from zest.Organic grapefruits are usually the best in case of allergies.The sweet-sour kind must be good in salads or simply for juicing.
Yasmeen said…
5 star foodie,my best wishes for your sweetie and I hope she outgrows too:).Nabeel's doing relatively better as he is growing.He takes a pill for the itchy eyes and running nose,just during this peak allergy season.
AnuSriram said…
wow.. cake looks gorgeous! Very happy birthday to Nabeel..
veena said…
Hi da...Great looking cake ..Happy birthday nabeel
mona said…
The cake looks so yummy Yasmeen.
I wish your kid a very very happy birthday! :-)
Even my hubby had Asthma when he was a kid, but as he grew into an adult, alhamdulillah the problem was gone. Dont worry! I pray for good health for your boy inshallah, Ameen.
Anonymous said…
SO,yasmeen,Nabeel is a Taurus like me !! haha..HAPPY b'DAY NABEEL !! LOVE YOU.
the cake looks real yummy..hope you had a great day !!
Recipeswap said…
Happy B'day to Nabeel.The cakes looks so good and grapefruit in a cake is new to me.Very creative.Lovely!
Happy b'day Nabeel. Awesome cake yasmeen. LOve the ganache.
Ivy said…
Happy birthday wishes to your darling son. The cake sounds delicious.
Poornima Nair said…
Thats a beautiful cake Yasmeen, looks really tempting. Wishing Nabeel a wonderful n healthy life.
I wish Nabeel a happy birthday and I hope he will always be strong and healthy. The chocolate cake with grapefruit sounds irresistable!
suvi said…
wow, yummy loooking cake! belated wishes to nabeel:)
Uma said…
Belated happy birthday to your little prince, Yasmeen! The cake looks so fabulous and yummy.
Soma said…
Happy Birthday to the little one... they will always be little to us:-D
You have done such a great job with the flavors of this Cake!!!

my DD & me.. are patients of asthma... but not so bad. she had to be on nebulizar for a few years & still does sometimes, but believe me it worked with homeopathy with me!
sra said…
That's an unusual combination! Here's wishing Nabeel many happy returns of the day!
CurryLeaf said…
Unusual cake -love it Yasmeen especially when made for a loved one it must be delicious.MY BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES TO DEAR NABEEL.MAY ALL HIS DREAMS COME TRUE
Yasmeen said…
Nabeel says "thank you":)
Soma,can't imagine you and your sis went through the miserable condition.Its good that homeo worked for you.
Anonymous said…
Salaam Yasmeen :),

what a beautiful description of your son.Lovely!I wish your noble prince everything good and to be always blessed :).You know,because of his astma and the struggle with it one day he will be a strong man...because he learned so early how to be a fighter.
I am sure your cake was very delicious.Every time I cook I use some of your ideas.I looked up for your breads as you suggested and I know I will make some of them.

Kiss,kiss my sweety!
Meeta K. Wolff said…
sending nabeel my best wishes. a great cake to celebrate with. thanks for sharing it with us in the mingle
Saritha said…
Happy birthday to nabeel.
Cake looks great...
Varsha Vipins said…
Just catching up with all posts Yasmeen dear..Awesme cake..too yummy..:) Hope n pray to God that Nabeel gets well soon..Keep ur smiles dear..:)
Bharti said…
Happy birthday to Nabeel. God bless him always. I like this combination Yasmeen..I've always had chocolate with orange but this sounds really delicious.
Kay said…
Wow! What a wonderful cake!!

Belated happy birthday, Nabeel! :) I hope you had a great day!
Malar Gandhi said…
Belated birhtday wishes to Nabeel,

Very innovative, healthy recipe...love ur creativity so much!!!
Lena Jayadev said…
wowww..superb cake..tell my belated bday wishes to nabeel :)
thank u 4 posting comment in my blog..
buy bupropion said…
I am relatively interested in eating cakes and and other creamy edible items. The recipe you have proposed in the blog is very interesting, I will definitely make it at home.

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