Imagine your home filled with the delightful, sweet scent of oranges, transporting you to a sun-kissed village street in Greece. Today, I'm excited to share a cherished Greek cake recipe featuring semolina flour infused with oranges. This cake's allure lies in its flavour and texture and the enchanting aroma that wafts through your space. The cake features a blend of semolina and all-purpose flour, resulting in a moist and crumbly texture. The semolina imparts a subtle nuttiness and absorbs the sweet orange syrup in which it is soaked. To enhance the experience, a dollop of Greek yoghurt is added on top. This contrasts the sweet, citrus cake with a creamy and slightly tangy contrast. Together, these flavours create a delightful balance.
Recipe
There are three steps to making this cake. The first is preparing the batter and baking the base. The preparation of the cake batter is much like how you would make a regular butter sponge. The second is preparing the syrup to soak the cake, and the third is whisking the frosting. After you have prepared the cake and syrup, allow them to cool completely. Once they're cool, soak the cake in the syrup and finish by topping it with the yoghurt frosting.
Step-by-step guide
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 6
Ingredients
For the cake
170 gms Unsalted butter, softened
170 gms Granulated sugar
2 Eggs
75 ml Fresh orange juice
120 gms Semolina flour
100 gms All-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking powder
For the syrup:
75 ml Fresh orange juice
75 gm Granulated sugar
For the frosting:
120 gms Greek yoghurt
Orange zest, for garnish
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a 7-inch round cake pan.
In a bowl, combine softened butter and sugar, whisking until the mixture becomes light and fluffy and the sugar is well incorporated.
Crack the eggs into a bowl one at a time and beat each egg thoroughly before adding the next one.
Combine the orange juice with the butter and egg mixture until fully mixed.
Finally, add the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, and baking powder. Gently fold it in with a spatula until combined, being careful not to overmix.
Transfer the batter to the greased pan and place it in the oven. Bake for about 50 minutes or until a skewer comes out with a few crumbs attached. Once baked, let the cake cool completely.
While the cake cools, prepare the orange syrup. In a pan, combine orange juice and sugar. Place it over low heat and boil, then let it simmer until the syrup reduces by half.
Once cooled, poke the cake with a skewer or fork and pour the syrup evenly over the top. Use a pastry brush to spread it out if necessary.
Next, transfer the Greek yoghurt to the pan with the remaining syrup and whisk until smooth and well combined.
Spread the whisked yoghurt evenly over the cake and let it sit in the fridge for a couple of hours. Finally, slice and serve the cake. Enjoy!
Tips :
1. You may use a stand mixer or a hand blender to prepare the batter. It will make the process easier and faster.
2. You can use regular butter instead of unsalted butter.
3. You can flavour the cake with any citrus fruit, like lemons or mandarin.
4. Do not over-mix the batter after adding the flour.
5. You can use all-purpose flour instead of semolina flour if you like. Please note that the texture might be slightly different.
6. You can choose to soak the cake with some honey instead of orange syrup, as well.
7. I have frosted the cake in the cake pan itself. You can choose to de-mould the cake and then frost it. Just make sure to let the cake completely cool down before de-moulding it.
8. You can choose to frost the cake with regular whipped cream if you would like.
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