1917 to 1945 Cake #10

Brown Derby Grapefruit Cake

The Brown Derby restaurant was one of the most popular restaurants in Hollywood in the 1920's. Famous actors and actresses ate there regularly and tourists would flock there to try and catch a glimpse of them. A gossip columnist, Louella Parsons, who ate there often, asked the owner to make a less fattening cake because she wanted to lose weight. The owner asked the baker, Harry Baker, to "put a grapefruit on something." They created an airy chiffon cake with cream cheese frosting and grapefruit. The grapefruit cake and the Cobb Salad are the two recipes that have preserved the legacy of the Brown Derby restaurant.

My Experience:

The grapefruit cake is one of those cakes with a few finicky steps that make it take a bit longer to complete. It involves zesting, juicing, and peeling of membranes. Since it is a chiffon cake, egg whites are whipped separately and folded into the batter. Once all of that is done the rest is pretty simple to put together.

The cake was tasty, but the weirdest thing happened when we ate it. All of our tongues and lips felt numb or tingly. We thought that was odd so we did some research. One neighbor found that many people can have a reaction to grapefruit called Oral Allergy Syndrome. The body confuses the proteins in the fruit with a pollen that some people may have an allergy to. It causes itching or swelling or tingling of the mouth, tongue, or throat. We still thought that it was odd that all of us had the same reaction and none of us had ever had that happen before when we had eaten grapefruit. Maybe I bought a highly potent one:)

Neighbor Comments:

"OMG! Delicious! Everyone had a bite and loved it!"

One neighbor joked:"I mean if you put something "Special" in the cake, I'm not mad, it still tasted good, LOL!"