The New York Times recipe: Namoura (syrup-soaked semolina cake)

You don’t always need eggs to give a cake its structure. This semolina cake soaked in a floral syrup gets its texture from yoghurt that’s been mixed with baking soda and left to sit until doubled in size. Amanda Saab, a social worker, got the recipe from her Lebanese grandmother and serves it at iftar dinners during Ramadan, but it can be enjoyed year-round.

Namoura (syrup-soaked semolina cake)

Recipe from Amanda Saab

Adapted by Tejal Rao

Amanda Saab, a social worker and home cook who lives near Detroit, riffs on her Lebanese grandmother’s recipe for namoura, a cake made from semolina flour, soaked in syrup while it’s still warm. When she serves it at iftar dinners during Ramadan, Saab often doses the syrup with a little bit of lavender extract. You could follow her lead, or use another floral note like vanilla or rose. The cake has no eggs, but this version gets its rich flavour and texture from aerated yoghurt, which goes bubbly within minutes of being mixed with a little baking soda.

Ingredients:

For the syrup:

400g sugar

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

1¼ tsp lavender extract, vanilla extract or rose water

For the cake:

170g unsalted butter, melted, plus more for coating the pan

490g semolina flour

150g sugar

227g plain full-cream yoghurt

2½ tsp baking soda

29g slivered almonds

Preparation:

Step 1 In a small saucepan over high heat, boil sugar and 1 cup of water, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to a simmer, add lemon juice and extract, and stir to combine. Simmer until thickened into a syrup, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

Step 2 Heat oven to 200C. Coat a 22cm x 33cm baking dish with butter. Place the semolina, melted butter and sugar in a large bowl and stir until well combined; set aside.

Step 3 Place the yoghurt and baking soda in a medium bowl and stir to combine. Set aside until the mixture has nearly doubled in size, about 10 minutes.

Step 4 Pour the yoghurt mixture over the semolina mixture and mix well to combine. Transfer to the buttered baking dish and press into an even layer. Using a knife, score the surface of the namoura on the diagonal into 5cm diamond-shaped pieces. Top each diamond in the centre with an almond. Bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Step 5 Place baking dish on a wire rack and drizzle the cooled syrup over the top of the hot namoura. Let cool to room temperature before re-cutting along the scored lines and serving.

Makes 20-24 pieces

Total time: 1 hour

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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