“Cake is for life. Not just for birthdays.”
A couple of weeks back, I attended a Greek food festival where I had these moist squares of cake that oozed sweet syrup when you bit into it. It was delicious to say the least and very popular among the crowd.Ofcourse , I had to try it at home !!
The Revani (or ravani) is a traditional sweet dish of Turkish and Greek lineage. It’s a cake made with semolina or corn meal and soaked with a zesty syrup. I think it’s alternately called Basbousa as well .
If you have had a cake made with semolina before , you ll know that the texture is much coarser than the usual cake.. Grainy but toothsome. You d think a cake drenched in copious amounts of sugar syrup would be cloyingly sweet and heavy, but surprisingly this cake is light and refreshing ! Gave me a Mediterreanean feel making it !
The recipe is adapted from here and is ridiculously easy. A one bowl method that hardly takes 10 mins until the batter is in the oven and you can start on the syrup. Give it some time to soak in and you ll relish these super syrupy cakes .
You’ll need :
- 125 grams or 1 cup all purpose flour
- 85 grams or 1/2 cup semolina
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 eggs , at room temperature
- 120 ml or 1/2 cup oil
- 100 grams or 1/2 cup sugar
- 120 grams or 1/2 cup yoghurt or curd , at room temperature
For the syrup :
- 100 grams or 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
Makes: 1 8×8 inch cake
Time : 10 mins prep + 20-25 mins baking time
Lets get started:
Preheat your oven to 180 C. Line the bottom of an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper and grease and flour the sides. Use a greased glass pan if you got it. I didnt .
Mix together the eggs, oil , yoghurt and sugar until smooth
Add in the semolina , flour and baking powder and mix until smooth. The batter will have a strong yoghurt smell !
Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 180 C for 20-25 mins until the edges are brown and toothpick inserted in centre comes out dry.
Let the cake cool completely and then cut into squares .
Meanwhile while your cake is baking, make your syrup. Boil the sugar and water in a sauce pan until it thickens. It takes around 10-15 minutes
Take it off the heat and add the lemon juice. Let cool completely.
Pour the syrup over the squares. Let it soak in !
Also:
- Double the recipe for a 9 x 13 inch pan.
- You can also add coconut into the batter and lemon/ orange zest in the syrup .
- Store at room temperature in an airtight container for upto 2 days or in the refrigerator for 4 days. Its best eaten at room temperature.
-
This is a moist and super syrupy cake. It can be served sprinkled with chopped pistachios or a dollop of cream. I adored the taste and it was a great hit at home. A nice takeoff from the regular cakes !
Hi please semolina chocolate cake banana ho to please bata dijiye without whole wheat flour please
Hi I tried this dish and it was really good.. really different from other cakes and good comfort food for the cold climate. I personally like it chilled but my family members liked it at room temperature. And above all it was really easy and fuss free.. in fact the most difficult part was waiting for it to cool down before eating
Nice Deeps !! I m pretty fond of syrup cakes as you don’t need to bother with icing and stuff. I would have to say i prefer it cold too !!! Thanks for trying and letting me know how you liked it too !