Orange-Soaked Semolina Cake
A moist and fragrant orange semolina cake made with fresh orange juice, zest, yogurt and butter, then finished with a simple homemade orange syrup. The semolina gives it a soft, slightly textured crumb, while the syrup adds extra citrus flavour and keeps the cake beautifully moist. Simple, comforting and perfect with coffee or tea.
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
- 150 g / 1 cup fine semolina
- 1 tsp baking powder
Wet ingredients:
- 120 ml / 1/2 cup fresh orange juice, from approximately 2 oranges
- 1 tbsp finely grated orange zest, from 1–2 oranges
- 120 g / 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 100 g / a little less than a 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 100 g / 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
For the orange syrup:
- The 2 oranges already used for zesting and juicing
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- water, as needed
Instructions
- Prepare the orangesWash and dry the oranges well. Finely grate the zest, making sure you only take the orange outer layer and not the bitter white pith underneath.Squeeze the oranges until you have around 120 ml of fresh juice. Keep the squeezed orange halves, you’ll use them later to make the syrup, so nothing goes to waste.
- Soak the semolinaPlace the fine semolina and yogurt in a large bowl. Add the orange juice and zest and mix well.Leave the mixture to rest for around 10–15 minutes. This gives the semolina time to absorb the liquid and soften, which helps create that moist, slightly textured crumb.
- Cream the butter and sugarIn another bowl, mix the softened butter and sugar together until creamy and slightly lighter in texture.Add the vanilla extract and mix again.
- Make the batterAdd the butter and sugar mixture to the soaked semolina.Sprinkle in the baking powder and gently mix everything together until evenly combined. The batter should be fairly thick but easy to spread.
- Prepare the cake tinPreheat the oven to 175°C (350°F).Grease an approximately 20 cm / 8-inch cake tin with a little butter and line the bottom with baking paper if you like.Pour in the batter and smooth the top.
- Bake the cakeBake for around 30–35 minutes, or until the surface is golden and a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.Leave the cake in the tin for about 10 minutes before transferring it to a serving plate or cooling rack.
- Make the orange syrupWhile the cake is baking, place the squeezed orange halves into a small saucepan.Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and enough water to create a small amount of liquid in the bottom of the pan.Bring everything to a gentle simmer and cook for a few minutes. As the oranges simmer, they release even more of their remaining juice, flavour and fragrant oils from the peel.Continue simmering until the liquid reduces and becomes slightly syrupy.Strain the syrup, pressing the oranges gently to extract as much of the liquid as possible.
- Pour the syrup over the cakeWhile the cake is still slightly warm, slowly pour the orange syrup over the top, allowing it to soak into the semolina crumb.Don’t pour it all into one spot, move around the surface so the cake absorbs it evenly.Then leave the cake to cool and give the syrup a little time to work its way through the crumb before slicing.
