Semolina Cake Soaked With Lemon Syrup (revani)

Total Time: 1 hr 30 mins Preparation Time: 1 hr Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cups coarse semolina or 1 1/2 cups cream of wheat
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon metaxa brandy
• 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/2 lemon

Recipe

• 1 butter and coat with fine dry breadcrumbs a 9 x 9 inch pyrex pan.
• 2 set oven rack in the middle of the oven; preheat to 350°.
• 3 whisk eggs and ½ cup sugar by hand in the bowl of an electric mixer.
• 4 place the bowl on the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; whip the mixture on high speed until pale and thickened, about 4 minutes.
• 5 while the eggs are whipping, stir the semolina and remaining ½ cup sugar together in a medium mixing bowl; stir in the sour cream.
• 6 dissolve the baking soda in the brandy in a small cup and stir into the semolina mixture; add in the orange zest and butter, stir to combine.
• 7 when the egg mixture is ready, fold it into the semolina batter with a large rubber spatula.
• 8 scrape the cake batter into the prepared pan; smooth the top.
• 9 bake cake for about 30 minutes, or until it is well risen and deep golden and a pick comes out clean.
• 10 cool the cake on a rack for 10 minutes.
• 11 while the cake is cookng, prepare the syrup: stir together all the ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil over medium heat; let the syrup boil gently for 5 minutes.
• 12 while the syrup is cooling, score the cake into 2 inch diamonds or rectangles with the point of a sharp knife, cutting about 1 inch into the cake.
• 13 after the syrup is cooked, remove the lemon half from the syrup and slowly pour the syrup all over the top of the cake so that it is evenly absorbed.
• 14 cool completely.
• 15 serve: cut through the scoring marks completely with a sharp knife; use a flexible spatula to first loosen each piece of cake, then remove it from the pan.
• 16 only the first piece is difficult and may break slightly, the rest should come out easily.
• 17 storage: keep the cake pan covered with plastic wrap at a cool room temperature.