Today is our 12th day here in Istanbul. Because our language course did not start yet, it still feels like being on vacation. We get up late, stroll from cafe to cafe, sit in the sun, do some sightseeing here and there while try to immerse ourselves in this fascinating culture. Since arriving in Istanbul, the only thing I actually “cooked” for myself was a salad. The rest of the time we have been going out for breakfasts, lunches and dinners (usually skipping one or the other). The food you get at restaurants (called “restoran” or “lokanta”) here is just too good and we love to discover and taste all the new dishes and flavors. And, so far I’m doing pretty well with the Turkish food. It looks like the Turkish cuisine is much easier to handle when suffering from fructose malabsorption compared to the German cuisine. I haven’t experienced extreme stomach pain or other symptoms here yet. Knock on wood.

However, after eleven days I’m starting to miss cooking and baking at home. Not because I miss pasta dishes or other foods I used to cook in Berlin, but simply for the sake of cooking. As we have yet to find a flat of our own and are still staying with good friends, who are being the best hosts ever, it probably will take a few more weeks until I pick up cooking regularly at home again.

That’s why today I’m sharing a recipe for a really nice tea cake with you, which I made two days before leaving for Istanbul. Yes, call me crazy. Don’t ask me why I made the effort to bake a cake instead of packing my bags and tidying up the flat. I guess I needed an outlet for the pre-moving stress or wanted to empty out the pantry. Who knows.

However, I’m happy I gave this fructose friendly cake with orange and ricotta a shot. It turned out to be really tasty. It was very moist and full of flavor….

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