Cakes Desserts Eggless

Orange syrup semolina cake (orange eggless rava cake)

“Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience. Knowing grass, I can appreciate persistence.”- Hal Borland.


Its Monday… I don’t really dread mondays like some do (not on a regular basis atleast ) as I pretty much love my job ( again, not on a regular basis !) . But the week that passed was pretty much mundane and unspecial with unpredictable rains , unnecessary power cuts and driving through ridiculous potholes. Added to all these small irritations of life , I can see more trees being cut down each day in my neighbourhood to make room for some railway construction thats coming up and that always puts me in a sore mood. So , I am actually looking forward to the new week , hoping it will be brighter and cheerier than the last.

One good thing that came out of this week, was this awesome orange semolina cake. I experimented a bit with it and was extremely happy with the outcome . Its a really simple cake but is big on flavour . And although low on effort , it can pass off for dessert or a tea time cake in a pinch. You can check out a step-by-step Youtube tutorial here.

The cake is another of my hot milk recipes – like the white chocolate sponge cake and the hot milk sponge cake – which seem to work so well for many who try it . The semolina is soaked in the hot milk and butter mixture which fluffs it up a bit. Yoghurt gives the cake some tang and some zest added in gives it that citrus boost. The punch of the orange comes from the syrup of course .

This cake is almost Mediterranean in its feel – with the syrup and the semolina and the orange. Quite unintentional of course. In fact , I was using the most indian of ingredients – oranges , yoghurt and good old rava !  

Orange syrup semolina cake

A moist and scrumptious eggless orange semolina cake drenched in an orange syrup!

Ingredients
  

  • 120 ml or 1/2 cup milk
  • 56 grams or 1/4 cup butter
  • 165 grams or 1 cup semolina rawa
  • 100 grams or 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 120 ml or 1/2 cup yoghurt or curd
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp orange zest optional

For the syrup

  • 1/2 cup fresh orange juice from one orange
  • 50 grams or 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat your oven to 160 C / 325 F . Butter and flour a 6 inch round pan , line the bottom with parchment (optional).
  • In a saucepan , heat the milk and butter together until the butter is melted.
  • To the hot mixture , add the semolina while whisking. The mixture will become thick and clumpy.
  • Whisk in the sugar.
  • Whisk in the yoghurt until smooth.
  • Add the zest , baking soda and baking powder and whisk it into the batter well.
  • Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 32-40 minutes until top is well browned and the cake springs back when pressed gently. A toothpick inserted in the centre , comes out clean.
  • As soon as the cake is out of the oven , prepare the syrup.
  • Heat the orange juice and sugar until the sugar is melted.
  • Poke holes into the still warm cake all over using a toothpick or skewer.
  • Pour the hot syrup over the warm cake.
  • Let cake rest until it comes to room temperature.
  • Unmould and serve !

Notes

You can also bake this cake in a 7 inch pan for a thinner cake - at 180 C / 350 F for 28-35 minutes.
You can double the recipe and bake in a 8 inch or 9 inch pan.
The cake can be stored in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
You can make the syrup before hand but it thickens as it cools. So heat it up to get it to a good pouring consistency .
Adjust the sugar in the cake as per your taste.
I used fine semolina but you can use coarse as well.
My cup measures 240 ml.

Semolina cakes can turn quite crumbly , but this one surprisingly isn’t. Its moist and scrumptious . And the syrup-y yumminess elevates it up a notch. You can swap out the orange for lime or lemons or any other citrus that catches your fancy! The syrup can be skipped but I would recommend trying this cake with the syrup atleast once. It can be served warm or at room temperature , but i will tell you its a cake for a complete sweetaholic!

Affiliate links : Just so you know, I have baked this orange cake in my trusty Morphy Richards 52 Litre Oven . And if you like citrus bakes like I do, you might want to check out this Zester .
How to bake a Orange syrup semolina cake :

23 thoughts on “Orange syrup semolina cake (orange eggless rava cake)”

  1. Ma’am agar semolina chocolate cake egg ke saath banana ho to recipe me kya changes karenge please bata dijiye

  2. Hi

    Just a question has the sugar and curds to be added while the mixture is hot or need to cool it.
    To the hot mixture , add the semolina while whisking. The mixture will become thick and clumpy.
    Whisk in the sugar.
    Whisk in the yoghurt until smooth.

  3. Hey there,
    Thanks for the great recipe.
    I am definitely going to try it.
    I am just a beginner in baking and wanted to bake something healthy for my kids.
    Actually, I am trying to make a rainbow cake with fruit colors only no artificial food coloring.
    I tried with whole wheat cake but because could not get the color right.
    I think using semolina will solve my purpose. I have a question before I start.
    What if I decrease the quantity of ingredients by half or more like 1/4?
    As I am going to make a layered cake, I don’t want it to be a big one in diameter/width, I would like to cut quantity to 1/4th of original for each layer. What will be the baking time in such case where I bake each layer individually or 2-4 layers in one go [using partitioning! I am gonna make in rec/square instead of round :D] ?

    1. Hi ! Sorry for the late response- was travelling for a bit ! In case you are still looking for suggestions , colour wouldn’t b too vivid in wholewheat cakes. The semolina cake is a small recipe in itself.. the full recipe cN be baked in a 5 or 6 inch square pan and that cake can be sliced into two or three horizontal layers ( depending on your experiencs in slicing). Also, Sprig does have a few natural colours if you want to look into that… Hope this helps !

  4. Hey! I baked this cake today, doubled the recipe, added in 1 tsp of orange oil and reduced sugar in the syrup. I left the cake overnight before indulging it. It was a TOTAL HIT!! Everyone loved the cake so much. I’ve been told to bake this again in the near future too!
    Thank you! Thank you so much!!! ❤

    1. Wow… some amazing review of the cake that is Preejashini ! Thank you so much for trying and sharing !

  5. Hi Akshatha, I baked this cake yest for my guests n the response i got is”heavenly” … tats the perfect word for this cake…. loved it.. keep rocking

    1. Thats some lovely feedback to hear Deepthi !! Thanks for trying the cake and i am really glad you and your guests enjoyed it so !

  6. Wow, this cake turned out amazing! It just needed a pinch of salt, so I added it to the syrup and poured all over! Perfect!

  7. So so tempting. But where did you find fresh oranges this time of the year? I will have to wait at least another month, if not more, for fresh oranges to bake this one.

    1. I just used the ones I found in the market.. they were imported I think.. but not expensive .. You could try it with limes if you wish Anjali !

  8. Nice flavoured cake Akshata. I always loved ur cakes as is. Baked many cakes from ur blog. Is this cake to be eaten as is or can be decorated with filling n frosting as well.
    Thanks in advance

    1. Thanks so much for the lovely comment Maithri…! This cake is to be eaten by itself , as the syrup makes sure its sweet enough – its more of a plate and fork kind of cake 🙂

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