There are a few incarnations of semolina cake. The classic Persian Love Cake is a very popular version, often infused with lemon and rosewater. Some semolina cake recipes use orange and cardamom. They can be topped with a sharp and sweet citrus icing or a sticky syrup. The one common element is they almost all contain semolina, almond meal and citrus. I wanted to give this one an Australian profile using Rosella (a type of hibiscus). I paired it with lime because it's a combination hard to resist. Not only was the resulting flavour combination fantastic but the deep pink of the Rosella (Hibiscus) syrup made it impossible not to dive in immediately. In retrospect, I should have experimented by finishing the cake with a tiny sprinkling of Tasmanian Mountain Pepperberries - I can just imagine their sharp, fruity heat adding a fabulous, unexpected dimension to the lime and Rosella. Ah well, next time. If you decide to give the pepperberries a go I would love to know how it went! It's easy, and it's a crowd pleaser. I think you'll love this cake :) Note: Remember to read through the recipe thoroughly before beginning! Serves 6-10 Prep time: 20 mins, Baking time: 35 mins Ingredients: 125g butter, softened 1/2 cup caster sugar 2 limes, both juice and finely grated zest 3 eggs 1 cup semolina 1 cup almond meal (either natural or blanched are fine) 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 cup flaked almonds 2 tablespoon caster sugar, extra Rosella (Hibiscus) & Lime syrup 1 ½ cups water 1/2 cup caster sugar 1 tbsp Rosella (Hibiscus) tea (dried hibiscus) Juice & zest of 1 lime (Reserve ½ tsp zest for the yoghurt) Honey Lime Yoghurt 1 1/2 cups unsweetened Greek yoghurt 2 tablespoon honey Plus the reserved ½ tsp lime zest Method: Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C fan- forced). Grease a 25cm round cake pan; line base and sides with baking paper. Beat butter and sugar in a small bowl with an electric mixer until pale and silky. Beat in lime juice and zest, then eggs one at a time. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and stir in semolina, almond meal and sifted baking powder. Don't mix it rigorously - just fold it in gently until all the ingredients are combined, so you don't stir the air out of the batter. Spoon mixture into prepared pan; sprinkle with flaked almonds and extra sugar. Bake for about 35 minutes or until cooked. (To test it, insert a skewer into the centre of the cake - if the skewer is clean when you take it out the cake is ready. If the skewer has cake mixture on it, put it back in the oven and test it with a skewer every 5 minutes.) While the cake is baking, make the syrup and prepare the yoghurt. When the cake is done, allow it to stand in the pan for 5 minutes then turn the cake out onto a wire rack over a tray, top-side up. Pierce the hot cake all over with a skewer; pour half the hot syrup over the cake. (Pouring the syrup over while the cake is hot, increases absorption of the syrup) Serve the cake warm with the remaining syrup and honey yoghurt. SYRUP: Combine 1½ cups water, ⅔ cup sugar and the lime juice in a small saucepan; stir over low heat until sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to the boil then immediately reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 5 minutes or until it looks slightly thickened and syrupy. Remove from heat. Add hibiscus and stir it in, then leave it to steep for 15 mins. After steeping, strain syrup through a colander then stir in the lime zest. Put aside. YOGHURT: Stir yoghurt, honey and lime zest together in a bowl then set aside. Note: some ovens can have inconsistent heat. For instance, mine is hotter in the back right corner. This means it can be a good idea to turn your cake in the oven during baking. Don't do this until approaching the end of cooking time though - opening the door and moving the cake around can disrupt the rising and you could end up with a flat, airless cake. I tend to wait till the last third or quarter of cooking time; for instance, this cake takes approximately 35 mins to bake, so at the 20-25 minute mark I open the door slowly before using oven mitts to gently turn the cake 180°. Pimp My Recipe Feel free to use any citrus in place of lime. Orange, lemon, blood orange or mandarin would all work so well. If you can get access use finger limes, adding a scattering of their tiny pearls over the top of the cake before serving would be magnificent! A splash of orange blossom water goes beautifully if you're using oranges in the cake. Similarly, a lemon semolina cake is elevated with a touch of rosewater. As for the syrup - you can omit the Rosella for a straight up lime syrup. Or add 2 tsp of lemon myrtle instead. Lavender would also be amazing! As mentioned above, a quick and sparse grinding of pepperberries could be spectacular. Even regular black pepper would work. Or try a tiny pinch of cardamom added to the yoghurt or syrup. Comments are closed.
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