Baked Grapefruit

Posted by Vanessa in Cooking, January 11, 2010

Last week wasn’t the first time I’d seen Sunny Anderson make her Baked Grapefruit on Food Network.  I’ve watched that particular episode air at least once before and remember thinking how incredibly weird this recipe is.  I mean, c’mon, tart grapefruit, ice cream and meringue, and all of it warm.  Give me a break.  This sounds plain wrong.

And I love grapefruit.  I can’t even begin to imagine how many of them I consumed while I was pregnant with my little girl.  Thank goodness it was my strongest craving, instead of say, doughnuts, like with this last pregnancy.  Oops.

So the first time I saw Sunny make this I resolved that even though I love grapefruit, there was no way I was trying this one.  Not me.

But sometimes I catch myself in a daring mood with one extra grapefruit on hand and look what happens.  Pure magic.

This, dear friends, is nothing short of amazing.  As unusual as it is, it comes together to form a cute, delicious concoction that I can’t wait to have again.

And again.

And again.

But I do have one disclaimer first…if you don’t like grapefruit in the first place, you’re not gonna like this dessert.  So don’t even try it.  Please.

I made two servings (which makes for a slight variation in the recipe from Sunny’s 6) and I made those two servings for my daughter and I to share.  Mr. Phoenix doesn’t like grapefruit and I didn’t even intend for him to try it.  Because I knew he would turn up his nose in disgust.  But you know what, it was so stinkin’ pretty he couldn’t resist.  And of course he turned up that ol’ nose and I had to hear how yucky it was.  But only listen to him if you don’t like grapefruit.  If you do, trust me, he doesn’t have a clue what he’s talking about.

It was AMAZING.

Baked Grapefruit

recipe slightly adapted from Sunny Anderson on Food Network
Details
  • Prep Time: 10 minutes.
  • Cook Time: 7 minutes.
  • Ready in 17 Minutes.
  • Makes: 2 Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 grapefruit
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/4 cup white sugar
  • 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
Directions
  • Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
  • In a large bowl, beat egg whites until light and fluffy. Add sugar and beat until meringue is glossy and holds stiff peaks. Put meringue into refrigerator until ready to use.
  • Remove the ends of the grapefruits to stabilize on the cutting board. Using a sharp knife, remove the skin and bitter pith from the flesh. Over a small bowl, hold grapefruit in 1 hand and carefully remove the segments by sliding the knife between the flesh and the membrane. Squeeze the rest of the grapefruit over the slices in a bowl.
  • Toss grapefruit pieces and juice with brown sugar and vanilla and divide into 2 ramekins.
  • Top each ramekin with 1/4 cup of ice cream. Cover with meringue.
  • Bake until golden brown, about 6-7 minutes. Serve warm.
(I used more brown sugar/vanilla and more meringue per serving than Sunny did and I liked my proportions quite well for my dish size.  If you want it a little less sweet, you can follow her recipe and I’m sure that would turn out great too.)

5 Responses to “Baked Grapefruit”

  1. yaaaaaaay! a grapefruit lover that gets my recipe!!! i have to tell you, it is a taste you either love or hate and i’ve seen some people that just don’t get this recipe, but for me … it’s heaven. my mom had grapefruit around all the time and as a kid, i played around with all kinds of kitchen stuff. anyway, so glad you gave it a try! thanks for watching!! foodies pull through every time!! for your hubby, maybe try a stone fruit under the ice cream …

  2. vanessa says:

    thanks for the tip on a variation for my husband! we’ll have to try that out sometime. any other fun ideas for grapefruit, especially now while they’re in season?!?

  3. Sue Anderson says:

    I tried the baked grapefruit and loved it! I actually just used 1/2 of a grapefruit and reduced the rest of the ingredients by half. It also has a nice presentation!

  4. hey vanessa! saw the other post and it reminded me to check here. if you like grapefruit that much, i say make a glaze and slather it on some chicken breasts. all you need is a grapefruit juiced, some sugar, water, one more flavor (herb or other), a teeny pot and a few minutes for the reduction! maybe even a habanero or jalapeno in place of the herb. put it in the pot to start and remove it as it thickens. sounds nice in my head … i may try it soon. and thanks sue if you check back :-). ita, the clear baking dish is way better than the ramekins i used, so much so i’m going to ask our set designer to find some for me! love em!

  5. vanessa says:

    thanks for the idea, sunny! i’ll have to give that a try soon. i made your strawberry chocolate pretzel fluff dessert today. i’m taking it to a get-together tonight and can’t wait to try it! i remember my mom making something similar when i was little, but that was so long ago, and it never had chocolate in it 🙂

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.