Sumac Terrace · Desserts

Semolina Syrup Cake

Name: Semolina Syrup Cake
Total time: 70 min
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients: 300 g Fine semolina; 240 g Plain yogurt; 230 g Sugar; 80 g Butter; 2 tsp Baking powder; 1 whole Lemon; 1 tbsp Orange blossom water; 25 g Sliced almonds; 180 ml Water; 0.25 tsp Salt

A simple yogurt and semolina cake, baked until golden, then soaked with a lemon and orange-blossom syrup. Almond slices on top. Sweet, not heavy, and best once the syrup has settled in.

70 minutes · Easy · 8 servings

Original house recipe · Not yet kitchen-tested

Ingredients

Fine semolina300 g
Plain yogurt240 g
Sugar230 g
Butter80 g
Baking powder2 tsp
Lemon1 whole
Orange blossom water1 tbsp
Sliced almonds25 g
Water180 ml
Salt0.25 tsp

Quantities describe recipe usage, not package sizes.

Allergen notes

Wheat (semolina), milk (yogurt and butter) and tree nuts (almonds).

Method

Mix the batter

Heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Butter a 20 cm square pan. Melt the butter and let it cool slightly. Stir the semolina, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the yogurt, 80 g of the sugar and the melted butter. Mix until smooth. Rest for 10 minutes so the semolina swells. Spread it in the pan and scatter the almonds on top.

Bake

Bake for 30–35 minutes, until the top is deep golden and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean. The cake has no egg. If the almonds darken too fast, lay a piece of foil loosely over the pan for the last 10 minutes.

Make the syrup

While the cake bakes, put the remaining 150 g sugar, the water and a strip of lemon zest in a small saucepan. Simmer for 5 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup is clear. Take it off the heat, pull out the zest, and stir in the orange blossom water and the juice of half the lemon. Let the syrup cool. Hot syrup on a hot cake makes the crumb mushy.

Soak and serve

When the cake comes out of the oven, cut it into squares while it is still in the pan. Pour the cool syrup slowly over the hot cake. Leave it for at least 30 minutes so it drinks the syrup. Serve at room temperature.

Cool syrup over a hot cake is the texture you want. If both are hot, the cake turns wet. Orange blossom water is strong; one tablespoon is enough for the whole syrup.

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