Grapefruit Pudding Cake

Directions

1. 1
   Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 10-inch round baking dish (I've also used a 9-inch baking dish-turned out just fine).
2. 2
   Pour the grapefruit juice into a small saucepan and simmer, uncovered, over medium heat until it has reduced to 1/2 cup, 35 to 40 minutes. Let cool completely (you can stick it in the freezer or submerge a bowl filled with ice.
3. 3
   Make the vanilla sugar: Split the 1/2 vanilla bean, then use the dull side of a butter knife to scrape the seeds out into the sugar bowl. Mix with a spoon or your fingers until the sugar is perfumed with vanilla.
4. 4
   As the grapefruit juice simmers, whisk 1 cup of vanilla sugar with the flour and salt in a large bowl (reserve extra vanilla sugar for the cake accoutrements!).
5. 5
   In a separate bowl, whisk the cooled grapefruit juice, yogurt, creme fraiche, zest, and egg yolks. Whisk this mixture into the dry ingredients.
6. 6
   In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the egg whites until soft peaks. Gently fold the egg whites into the grapefruit mixture. Do your best not to deflate the egg whites.
7. 7
   Pour into the prepared baking dish and bake until the pudding is set but a bit jiggly in the middle and the top is golden, 25 to 30 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving warm. (It's okay if the top of the cake cracks as it cools.)
8. 8
   Serve topped with vanilla wafer crumbs and a dollop of bitters-spiked creme fraiche.
9. 9
   To make the Nilla Wafer crumbs: In a medium saute pan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the cookie crumbs and stir to coat. Once the crumbs are coated in butter, sprinkle the vanilla sugar over top and stir to combine. Cook, stirring, for 5 to 7 minutes, until the cookie crumbs are crisp. Let cool completely so that they're as crunchy as possible.
10. 10
    To make the bitters-spiked creme fraiche: Scoop creme fraiche into a serving bowl (I used about 1/3 cup) and add a few dashes of bitters. Stir to combine. Add natural sugar to taste.