Blood orange and olive oil upside-down cake from Dessert Person: Recipes and Guidance for Baking with Confidence (page 67) by Claire Saffitz

Ingredients

semolina flour
Semolina is the hard part of the grain of durum wheat. When hard wheat is ground, the endosperm--the floury part of the grain--is cracked into its two parts, the surrounding aleurone with its proteins and mineral salts and the central floury mass, also called the endosperm, which contains the gluten protein that gives hard wheat its unique properties for making good pasta. A cream-colored semolina is used in pasta or Italian-style breads. There are difference grades: (1) Semolina flour is finely ground endosperm of durum wheat; (2) Semolina meal is a coarsely ground cereal like farina; and (3) Wheatina is ground whole-grain wheat. When other grains, such as rice or corn, are similarly ground, they are referred to as "semolina" with the grain's name added, i.e., "corn semolina" or "rice semolina." Read more: http://www.food.com/library/semolina-471#ixzz1ms6MXCXf Buy Now
- King Arthur Baking - United States
cake flour
Buy Now
- King Arthur Baking - United States
Show all ingredients...
EYB Comments

Can substitute vanilla extract for orange blossom water.

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

Eat Your Books

Can substitute vanilla extract for orange blossom water.
ellwell on January 26, 2025

This was terrible. I was never expecting to say that based on the previous reviews. I followed the recipe exactly and was so excited to make it for company. Warning: It is important to cut off the dome if you are going to turn it upside down to show off the orange slices. Unfortunately I did not cut enough off which caused the cake to fracture upon flipping. Secondly, taste was terrible and I was embarrassed to serve it to company. Nobody ate it and we threw out the rest. I love olive oil cakes and just made the one from Eating Out Loud (also made with semolina) which was an infinitely superior recipe.
khopkins1012 on January 23, 2025

Outstanding. Baked in a 9" springform pan with no modifications. Required about 60 minutes in oven.
Hansyhobs on March 05, 2022

Delicious. Would absolutely do it again. My big problem with CF recipes is that she wants you to use so many bowls which is annoying but her recipes really work. This looked so impressive. I used a mandolin to slice the oranges which is a good tip. I used an 8 inch pan as I don't believe 10 inch is a regular size in the UK. Took about 20 mins longer to cook.
gloriole on August 15, 2021

Claire instructs to use a springform pan, but I found that the sugar syrup leaked out and I definitely wished it stayed in the pan to create a beautiful sugary crust/glaze on the surface. It was also a pain to clean the pan. I would definitely just use a normal cake pan since it slid out really easily. Be sure to thinly slice the oranges as the recipe calls for, as thickly sliced oranges skins would be tough and bitter. I used a mandolin for mine. While the oranges looked beautiful, I found it hard to eat on top of the cake. The whole slice would pull off the cake in a bite, leaving naked bites of the cake. I personally felt the cake did fine without the orange slices. The semolina was a very nice and interesting touch though, creating a textural note that I appreciated in the cake.
SugarTreeBaking on May 15, 2021

Beautiful, unusual and delicious cake. Make sure to thinly slice the oranges as the recipe states. Let it sit a day or two as the flavor just gets better.
EmilyR on February 01, 2021

I prefer the olive oil cake from little flower baking co., but this is a solid choice. The semolina flour is an interesting touch and the candied blood oranges sure are beautiful.
Astrid5555 on January 22, 2021

This is a beautiful looking cake with some crunch in the batter from the semolina flour. However, the olive oil taste was a little too pronounced for my taste (should have probably used a fruitier one).