All morning I have been day dreaming, slightly inspired by the fictional adventures of Walter Mitty and otherwise inspired by this mouthwatering cake.

A little over two years ago, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty was brought to the big screen. Although the plot deviated from the original story, the movie's hopeful nature and message to finally seize adventure and see the world... well, it stuck with me. The movie basically captured the spirit that when life seems boring and you feel unworthy and you have to escape reality through ridiculous day dreams in your head, then maybe it's time to shake things up a bit. Put yourself out there more. Say yes to traveling across the world and finding a famous photographer! Or, you know, say yes to going to Greece with some of your best girlfriends even when life is the least stable it's been in a long time. I'm making things personal here. In any case, the movie was cheesy, inspiring, corny, uplifting, aesthetically stunning, and, most importantly, had a delicious looking clementine cake.

I may have lost you there. But really, I've been thinking about that darn cake ever since Walter Mitty's mom sent Sean O'Connell off with a tin of it. A fictional cake captured my imagination. I wanted a piece of my own! Now, here comes the stretch: I made a grapefruit cake. Not clementine. Grapefruit. But tomato-tomatoe, citurs is citrus. (Unless you don't like grapefruit, than stick with the clementines.) I happen to be a grapefruit lover. Grapefruit juice is the ultimate thirst quencher, especially with a little gin to top it off à la The Feisty Greyhound.

A clementine, or grapefruit, or just plain ol' citrus cake, is inherently gluten-free. Made of ground-up almonds, eggs, sugar, and minced, boiled fruit, it's a pretty easy cake to prepare. The candied grapefruit is essentially just a nice garnish. The quintessential cherry on the sundae. The icing on the cake. Well, the colorful garnish on the icing on the cake.

Grapefruit Cake
based on recipe from Nigella Lawson

1 large ruby red grapefruit
6 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 1/3 cup almond flour/ground almonds
2 teaspoons baking powder

Put grapefruit in a pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and boil for one hour. Make sure grapefruit stays covered with water by adding more when needed. Remove from heat and let grapefruit cool on the counter. Once grapefruit is cooled, remove seeds and finely chop the entire grapefruit, pith, skin and fruit. You can also mince it in the food processor. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F and butter and flour an 8" spring form pan. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, whip the eggs for one to two minutes until smooth. Add in the sugar, almond flour, and baking powder. Gradually add in the chopped grapefruit until combined. Pour batter into prepared springform pan. Bake cake for one hour until skewer comes out clean. If the top starts to get brown, cover it with aluminum foil. Remove from oven and let cool.

Top with grapefruit icing and optional candied grapefruit slices. Best served within two to three days.

Grapefruit Icing

2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon Grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon milk (+ more to thin if necessary)

In a small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, milk, and juice until smooth. Use immediately.