Semolina Cake
This semolina cake is inspired by the popular Turkish Revani and Egyptian Basbousa cake recipes. Give it a try!
Semolina cake is a popular Middle Eastern recipe with an ancient history behind its preparation. This recipe is popular throughout the Middle East, from Egypt, Jordan, Turkey to other eastern Mediterranean regions as well. Each region has its own recipe name, but the differences are only in the details, the base recipe somewhat the same.
I decided to make this semolina cake because I discovered the delicious Turkish Revani and Egyptian Basbousa. Both of them are semolina cake recipes with minor differences between them. I combined those two and veganized the recipe.
Did you know that the Turkish semolina cake is known as “Revani” and it has its presence in the Turkish cuisine since the Ottoman period? The name “Revani” is derived from the name of the city of Yerevan which was once conquered by the Ottoman Empire (an Armenian city).
Also, you can find this semolina cake recipe under so many different names! For example, it is also named Pastūsha, a recipe originated in Kuwait in the 2010s. It’s semolina cake with finely ground pistachios and orange flower water.
This semolina cake is very easy to prepare. It is basically a very soft semolina sponge cake, soaked in a lot of syrup. Yogurt and butter are used in the original semolina cake recipe, but I made it vegan. 🙂 Plus, I didn’t use any refined sugar and used coconut sugar and agave syrup instead.
Coconut flakes and even ground nuts are used for garnishing before serving the delicious semolina cake. You can try this recipe at home without any hassle and experiment with varying flavorings.
Semolina Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups semolina
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 Tbsps psyllium husks or freshly ground flax seeds
- 1 Tbsp orange zest
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup agave nectar
- ⅓ cup coconut oil softened
- 2 Tbsp pistachio nuts
- 2 Tbsp ground almonds
- 1 Tbsp orange blossom water
For the syrup:
- ½ cup coconut sugar
- ½ cup agave nectar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F).
- Line a cake tin with parchment paper.
- In a mixer bowl, add all the cake ingredients except pistachios and almonds. Mix until creamy.
- Pour the mixture into the greased cake tin and bake in the oven for about 30 mins, until the top part is golden. Do the test with the toothpick. If it comes out clean it’s ready. If not, leave it for another 10 minutes.
- Prepare the syrup. In a medium saucepan, add the sugar, agave, lemon/orange juice and 1 cup of water.
- Cook for a few minutes on low heat, until the sugar is dissolved. Then bring to boil, about 5 minutes, until the syrup thickens. Set aside to cool.
- Pour the syrup over the cake and let it rest about 20 minutes
- Sprinkle chopped pistachios and almonds on top
If you make this, please leave a review and rating if you liked this recipe! ★★★★★
hi i don’t have any orange blossom water what can i add as an alternative or if i couldn’t add it is it making any difference ?
Hi Sage. You could add just water with a couple of drops of pure orange essential oil, if you have any. Or some orange or lemon essence for baking.
Thank you for this recipe, it looks brilliant! I wonder if it is possible to make this recipe a day or two before?
You’re welcome! 🙂 Sure! Just keep it covered with plastic wrap and in the fridge. 🙂
These looked so fluffy and moist so I had to give them a try. Made them yesterday and they were gone in a couple of hours! My family loved them! Thank you!
You’re welcome! Glad you and your family liked these!