Candied Ginger and Grapefruit Loaf

 This is another one of those recipes that manages to use grapefruit juice instead of lemon or orange juice, both of which appear far more commonly in quickbread recipes, just like the Grapefruit Meringue PieI put together recently. The sweet, cake-like quickbread is very similar to recipes for Meyer Lemon and Blueberry Bread and Orange Cranberry Bread, but uses fresh grapefruit juice and candied ginger as a flavor base. Spicy-sweet candied ginger is a nice match for the tart, and sometimes bitter, grapefruit juice. The two make for a loaf that tastes really fresh, sweet and citrusy.

Fresh grapefruit juice works the best for this recipe, since it gives you access to extra zest to stir into the batter, but a pure-juice packaged grapefruit juice will work well, too. If you aren’t using grapefruit zest, I’d add in some orange zest to give the bread a little more flavor. For the candied ginger, I’d recommend using ginger chips if you can find them because they’re so easy to use. If you’re buying your candied ginger in larger pieces, chop it up with a sharp knife. Leave some of the pieces a little larger and some a little smaller so there will be a good variety throughout the loaf.

This bread has a fairly open crumb and a tender, slightly crumbly texture. It goes well with butter and some types of jam, like marmelade if you’re a fan of it. It is also good just on its own and is sweet enough to serve as a sort of coffee cake. The candied ginger doesn’t make this bread ideal for putting it into a standard toaster, but it is good toasted if you haver a toaster oven to work with.

Candied Ginger and Grapefruit Loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup grapefruit juice (fresh, preferably)
1 tbsp grapefruit zest or orange zest
3 tbsp canola oil
1 large egg
3/4 cup candied ginger, chopped
1 tbsp coarse sugar, for topping

Preheat oven to 375F and lightly grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add in in grapefruit juice, grapefruit or orange zest, oil and egg and mix until just combined. Stir in chopped candied ginger. Spread evenly in loaf pan.
Sprinkle the top of loaf generously with coarse sugar.
Bake for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf.