Namoura (Lebanese Syrup-Soaked Semolina Cake)
- Yield: 40 or so pieces, depending on how you slice the cake 1x
Ingredients
Scale
Cake:
- 4 cups (720g) fine semolina flour [1]
- ½ cup (99g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (226g) unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup (57g) plain yoghurt
- 1 cup (226g) evaporated milk
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ Tbsp baking powder
- 3 Tbsp Indo~European Foods Orange Blossom Water
- ¼ to ½ cup (35g to 70g) pine nuts or whole blanched almonds
Orange Blossom Simple Syrup:
- 2 cups (396g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (227g) water
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- 1 ½ Tbsp Indo~European Foods Orange Blossom Water
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, whisk together semolina flour and sugar. Add melted butter, then—using the paddle attachment—beat on medium-high until well mixed.
- Add yoghurt, evaporated milk, salt, baking powder, and orange blossom water, mixing on low for a couple minutes until it forms a thick batter.
- Grease and line an 11" x 15" pan with parchment paper. [2] Brush pan and parchment with about 2 tablespoons of tahini (or melted butter if you don’t have tahini on hand).
- Press batter evenly into bottom of pan.
- Place pan in fridge for about 45 minutes.
- When you’re nearing the end of the chill time, heat oven to 350°F.
- Cut cake into diamonds. (You cut pre-bake so that the orange blossom simple syrup soaks into the cake better.) Place nut(s) in centre of each diamond.
- Bake for 30–40 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
- While the cake is baking, start your orange blossom simple syrup. In a small pot over medium heat, mix sugar and water, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and boil for 4–5 minutes.
- Add lemon juice and orange blossom water, then boil for another 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow to cool. (The goal is to pour warm or room temperature syrup on a hot cake.)
- After the cake is baked, broil it for 1–3 minutes just to make the top a wee bit more golden, if you like. Keep a close eye on your cake so it doesn’t burn though!
- Place pan on wire rack and evenly pour orange blossom simple syrup over hot cake.
- Allow syrup to soak in and cake to cool at room temperature for a few hours before serving.
Notes
- We like Bob’s Red Mill semolina flour.
- You can use a jelly roll or half sheet pan with slightly different proportions; just make sure that you adjust your baking time accordingly. (Bake for longer if the pan is smaller and cake is thicker. Bake for a little less time if pan is larger and cake is thinner.)
Adapted from: Cookin’ With Mima
