Syrup Soaked Orange Semolina Cake

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Tray of desserts for a Jerusalem-themed event

Several years ago we had an Israeli-themed dinner at the synagogue, and I was in charge of making the desserts. A couple of weeks ago, we had a Jerusalem-themed event, and I ended up making the same set of desserts again, because I enjoyed them so much.

Another tray of desserts for a Jerusalem-themed event

One of the recipes is these Tahini Cookies from Yotam Ottolenghi, who is amazing. Another are these Kadorei Shokolad (Chocolate Balls), which my Israeli friends agree are wonderful and traditional. I rolled half of the balls in desiccated coconut and the other half in nonpareils; both are wonderful, and they give color and contrast to the cookie trays. I scoop the balls using a #60 cookie scoop [I own two different ones, I’m so addicted to cookie scoops!], a dozen or so at a time. I roll them smooth, coat in the desired coating, then put in the fridge to harden once I’ve finished the batch, otherwise they’ll be a little too soft. 

Chunks of oranges after being boiled to soften

For the last recipe, I decided to make a syrup-soaked semolina cake, of which there are  numerous variations throughout the Middle East. This is both similar to, and nothing like, the whole orange loaf cake recipe I posted earlier this year.

Ground almonds and pistachios, flour, semolina, desiccated coconut, and baking powder - ready to become cake!

Mixing the pureed oranges into the batter

It starts off the same, boiling oranges in water until soft, then pureeing them. The base includes flour and semolina like before, but this time ground almonds, ground pistachios, and desiccated coconut are also added. Instead of blitzing everything in the processor, almost all the ingredients are simply stirred in by hand. And the main difference is that here, the eggs and sugar are whipped until very light and voluminous, then carefully folded into the batter.

Whole eggs and sugar whipped until pale and fluffy

The whipped egg and sugar mixture is carefully folded into the batter

While the cake is baking, a fragrant syrup of water from boiling the oranges, sugar, cinnamon, and fresh orange juice and zest is made. This syrup is poured over the hot cake, making it incredibly rich and moist.

Semolina cake in its pan and ready to bake

If I’m putting this out on trays, I wait until it’s stone cold, and then freeze the cake for at least an hour, which allows me to slide it out of the pan without breaking. I cut it into fairly small pieces, and garnish the top with pistachios and almonds.

Beautiful orange and cinnamon syrup, ready to soak into the semolina cake

Pouring the syrup over the cooked and still-hot semolina cake

I am sure that when I first made this, I baked it in a half-sheet pan. This time, the batter seemed like it would overflow the half sheet, and I instead opted to bake it in a half-sheet-sized cake pan instead. Given that most of us don’t have one of these lying around, I would recommend baking it in two 9×13″ pans, or halving the recipe.

Syrup Soaked Semolina Cake, left to cool

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