Semolina Cake (or Muffins) with Lemon Syrup
Makes a small cake or 12 muffins.
INGREDIENTS
Cake:
- 200g fine semolina
- 100g caster sugar
- 100g plain flour
- 1 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
- pinch of ground nutmeg (optional)
- 100g soft unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing (or use a vegan alternative)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar OR lemon juice (optional)
- 3 eggs (vegan alternative is 3 flax eggs, i.e. 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed/linseed plus 3 tablespoons water)
- blanched almonds, to decorate (optional)
Syrup:
- ½ cup (125 mL) water
- ⅓ cup (70g) caster sugar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon rosewater OR aniseed essence
METHOD
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (or 165°C fan-forced).
- If using flax "eggs", soak 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed in same amount of water for at least 15 minutes.
- To make the cake, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat all ingredients, except the eggs and almonds, for 2 minutes.
- Add eggs, increase speed to high and beat for 5 minutes.
- Spoon batter into a greased tin or muffin trays.
- Use a knife to lightly mark small serving portions on top of batter (if using a cake or brownie tin), then top each portion or muffin with an almond, if you like.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into centre of cake comes out clean.
- When cake is nearly cooked, make the syrup. Place water and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to the boil, allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for a few minutes, then stir in lemon juice, with either rosewater or aniseed essence.
- When cake or muffins have been baked, pour a little hot syrup over hot cake, allowing it to absorb. Continue with all of syrup, allowing it to absorb after each addition.
Cake based on: Kalo prama at SBS Food
Syrup based on: Basbousa at SBS Food