Grapefruit poppy seed cupcakes with yogurt glaze

(jump to recipe)

These cupcakes are a really unique and beautiful way to kick of citrus season. Starring grapefruit, a rather underrated member of the citrus family, these cupcakes are bright and whimsical. Easy to adapt to various citrus combinations, but there’s something about grapefruit, poppy seeds and yogurt that makes this particular combination sing!

Thanks to a surplus of grapefruit from the farmers market, I actually tried my hand at candying grapefruit slices at home this time, and used the homemade candied grapefruit slices to decorate these cuties. Before citrus season ends, I do intend to try candying a few more times and share some tips on the blog!

We start by zesting, then juicing some grapefruits.

Then the rest of it is fairly standard citrus cupcake stuff. Mix the dry ingredients together. Rub the zest with the sugar to infuse the sugar with the citrus zest. Add oil, eggs, vanilla extract, and then beat in the yogurt, grapefruit juice and the poppy seeds go in last! The batter is so thick and delicious, you won’t be able to resist the pretty pops of poppy seeds!

Pour the batter into the muffin tin and bake until the tops are golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.

Once the cupcakes cool, make a quick yogurt glaze with the grapefruit juice and confectioners sugar and slather it on, and shower with poppy seeds again before the glaze sets! I decorated mine with homemade candied grapefruit slices, but the cupcakes are just as pretty without!

Because of the use of oil and yogurt, these cupcakes are really moist. Despite the slight hardness introduced by the use of the whole wheat pastry flour, the cupcakes are very tender, and taste even better the next day or the day after.

Grapefruit Poppy Seed cupcakes with Yogurt glaze

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Makes 12 cupcakes

1½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more
1 tablespoon finely grated grapefruit zest
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon plain Greek yogurt, divided
8 tablespoons fresh grapefruit juice, divided
1 tablespoon poppy seeds, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Candied grapefruit slices or peels to decorate (optional)

Bake cupcakes
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and ¾ tsp. salt in a medium bowl.

Using your fingers, work grapefruit zest into granulated sugar in a large bowl until sugar starts to clump and mixture is very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla and beat with an electric mixer on high speed until light and thick, about 4 minutes.

Reduce speed to low and mix in half of dry ingredients, then mix in the 3/4 cup yogurt. Mix in remaining dry ingredients followed by 5 tablespoons grapefruit juice and 1 tablespoon poppy seeds. Spoon or pour the batter into prepared muffin tins (about 1/3 cup in each tin).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool muffins in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Poke holes in top of cupcakes and brush remaining 3 tablespoons grapefruit juice over top. Let cool all the way.

Make glaze
Once cupcakes have completely cooled, whisk confectioners sugar, remaining 1 tablespoon yogurt, 1 teaspoon water (or grapefruit juice, if you have any left!), and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl until smooth. Add additional water or juice if needed, to get the desired consistency (1 teaspoon at a time, up to 4 teaspoons). Glaze should be thick.

Using a spoon, drizzle over cupcakes. Sprinkle with poppy seeds and let sit until glaze is set, about 30 minutes.