Grapefruit cake

I've been to the Vegetarian Cookery School in Bath a few times, and I almost always love everything we cook.

So it's a bit of a mystery why, when I get home full of new ideas and enthusiasm, I don't cook much of it. You know what that makes me? A daft sod. 

A few weeks back, I was going to visit my granddad, who has a grand total of two and a half teeth and a fondness for cake. 

Inspiration struck - I would make a cake for him, and one soft enough he could gum away on it happily. 

I knew exactly the cake I would make too: the almond and orange cake I made when I did the vegan desserts and pudding course. It was rich, moist and distinctly un-tooth-troubling mix of almonds, oranges, yoghurt and other bits and pieces (the recipe is here if you want to give it a go).

It takes a while to make - you have to boil the oranges with spices for a while until they fall apart, then mix with ground almonds, cornmeal, baking powder, and sugar, and bake for 45 minutes or so.

I remember when we made the cake, the cook in charge said if we fancied trying it another way, we make it with grapefruit instead of orange. And that's exactly what I did. 

I followed the recipe diligently, but added a bit of extra yoghurt in for maximum granddad compatibility.

It turned out a bit too grapefruit, and a bit too squidgy - it fell apart as I cut it. Disaster!  Turns out that getting experimental is fine, but when you've met perfection - and this cake recipe is pretty darn close to it - you shouldn't mess with it!

The granddad visit got postponed, though, so I've no idea if he would have liked it. But the next time I make it, I'm pretty sure I won't be moving even a hair's-breadth from the recipe.