Everybody that´s familiar with the food blogger scene knows about those big award shows. You know, the ones where they determine the best overall blog, best picture, best recipe, best newcomer, etc. Every year, one dreams and hopes, thinks about what one would do if they would actually get one of these prestige things. And every year the season passes and it gets quiet again. I was thinking about it the other day and realized, that even if I ever did manage to get an award for anything, the fame and glory wouldn´t be mine alone. Without the people in the background, this blog would look a whole lot different. So I thought, why not host my own award show, giving awards to all the special people who make this space the way it is. Here we go.

The first award is in the category most patient carrier of props/ best hand model/ best holder of backgrounds and reflectors and goes out to my boyfriend without who´s patience and support, many of the pictures would look veeery different.

The next category is best provider of props and goes out to my potential in-laws, who´s house I must have pillaged by now.

The best technical know how and support award goes to my brother, who is responsible for this sites design and withouth whom´s help this whole thing would have failed right at the beginning.

Other awards go out in the category best eater of everything I am creating to my lovely mom and sister, thanks to whom I still fit into my pants after three years of blogging. Also, awards have to be given out in the category I-like-everything-that-you-post-online and I-mentioned-your-blog-in-my-office-and-now-my-secretaries-won´t-stop-browsing-the-internet. Congratulations!

Finally, what shouldn’t be missing is the award of best reader/loveliest commenter who goes out to everyone who takes time to read through my ramblings, try my recipes and give me feedback. Seriously, without you this whole adventure wouldn’t be as great as it is, so thank you for that!

What do you think? Did I miss anything? Maybe I could offer this recipe as a runner up in the category best winter recipe/ best orange semolina cake but I´ll have to wait for the jury´s verdict on the decision if it´s really that good. My own (not biased at all) opinion is strongly in favor though.

Notes to the recipe:

• In Germany, there are two different types of semolina you can buy. The first one, hard wheat or durum semolina, is typically used for more hearty dishes, pasta, dumplings and so on. The second one, soft wheat semolina, is used mostly for desserts and puddings. I´m not sure whether other countries also use these distinctions though. I´ve made this cake with both types and couldn´t find too big of a difference texture wise so you should be fine with whatever you can get
• You can decorate this cake in two different ways. You can either make an upside down cake and bake the oranges into the batter, which makes for a softer cake with an almost cream-cheese-like texture in the middle. Or you could bake a plain cake and add fresh oranges as a topping, which makes for a drier cake if that´s what you prefer.
• This recipe makes for a 18 to 20 cm spring pan. When using a regular sized (about 28 cm), double the measurements.

For the cake (18 to 20 cm spring pan):

1 orange (juice and zest)

1 lemon (juice and zest)

50 sugar

2 eggs

1 pinch of salt

250 g quark

160 g semolina

2 tbsp. baking powder

For the topping:

3 oranges (mixture of blood oranges and regular oranges)

For the syrup:

100 ml orange juice or juice of about 2 small oranges

1 vanilla bean

50 g sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 160° C. Butter a spring pan. Peel the oranges for the topping, cut into slices and place on top of the spring pan. If you want to add fresh oranges later, skip this step.

2) Using an electric hand mix, whip eggs, sugar and salt for about 5 minutes until the mixture is white and creamy. Add lemon and orange juice and zest and quark and mix well. Fold in the semolina and baking powder.

3) Pour the batter onto the oranges in the spring pan and bake everything for about 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. In the meantime, prepare the syrup. Cook orange juice, sugar and core of the vanilla bean for two minutes at high heat, then let cool.

4) Turn the cake, poke with a fork and pour the syrup on top.

Merken

Merken

Merken

Merken

Merken

Merken