I’m not sure about you, but dessert is our favorite meal of the day! And this Revani – Semolina Cake With Orange Syrup satisfied our sweet tooth, and then some! 
It’s so wonderful how certain foods spark memories of beautiful moments with loved ones. When I was a little girl, my grandmother (yiayia Nicoletta) would make this sweet orange flavored cake for my brother and me. My favorite part was poking the holes on top of the baked cake right before she poured the warm syrup on top of it. My yiayia would use Cream of Wheat to make her Revani. Our version substitutes Cream of Wheat with Semolina Flour. We like to believe yiayia Nicoletta would approve of this small change. We hope you do too!
HOW TO MAKE REVANI – SEMOLINA CAKE WITH ORANGE SYRUP
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and set aside. Separate the 2 egg yolks and the 2 egg whites.
- Prepare all other cake ingredients (flour, semolina, baking powder, butter, sugar, vanilla, zest of one orange).
- Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until smooth. Then add the egg yolks, 1 at a time. Add the vanilla extract and the lemon zest. Then add your flour, semolina and baking powder. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl. Using a spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter until just blended. Don’t mix too much.
- Pour the batter into the pan, and bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is golden.
- Once the cake is done, take a toothpick and poke several holes into the cake. Let it cool for 30 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, add water, sugar lemon and orange zest to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Then let it simmer for 10-15 minutes. Add the lemon and orange juice.
- Once the cake has cooled for 30 minutes and your syrup is ready, pour the syrup over the cake. Allow some time for the cake to absorb the syrup. Once it has cooled, you can cut into diamond shapes, and serve with powdered sugar!
WHY DO YOU POKE HOLES INTO THE CAKE?
Poking holdes into the cake allows it to fully soak up the syrup inside. Without doing this, the cake would not be as moist and flavorful.
IS IT IMPORTANT TO CUT THE CAKE INTO DIAMONDS?
Cutting the cake into diamond shapes is traditional for the dessert, but definitely not necessary. Feel free to cut it any way you wish!
WHAT TEMPERATURE IS IT BEST TO EAT THE REVANI AT?
Revani is best eaten at room temperature like most cakes. This is why cooling the cake is an important step. Even though we know it’s tempting right out of the oven!
Revani – Semolina Cake With Orange Syrup Recipe
Revani - Semolina Cake With Orange Syrup
Ingredients
- 1/2 c butter softened
- 2/3 c sugar
- 4 eggs separated
- 1 c semolina
- 1/2 c milk
- 1 c flour sifted
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 one grated orange rind finely grated
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 c water
- 2 c sugar
- 1 strip orange peel 2-3 inch wide strip
- 1 strip lemon peel 1-2 inch wide strip
- 1 tsp lemon juice freshly squeezed
- 1 tsp orange juice freshly squeezed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 13 pan and set aside.
- Separate the 2 egg yolks and the 2 egg whites.
- Prepare the butter, sugar, semolina, milk, flour, baking powder, orange rind and vanilla.
- Using an electric stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the egg yolks, 1 at a time. Add the vanilla extract and the lemon zest.
- Add flour, semolina and baking powder.
- Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl. Using a spatula, fold the egg whites into the batter until just blended. Don’t over mix.
- Pour the batter into the greased pan, and bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is golden.
- Once the cake is done, remove from the oven and use a toothpick to poke several holes into the top of the cake. Allow the cake to cool for 30-40 minutes.
- While the cake is cooling, add water, sugar, lemon juice, orange juice, lemon rind strip and orange rind strip to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
- Once the cake has cooled for 30 minutes and your syrup is ready, pour the syrup over the cake. Allow some time for the cake to absorb the syrup for about 15 minutes.
- When ready to serve, cut on the diagonal to create diamond shapes, and serve with powdered sugar!
A couple of inconsistencies: ingredient list calls for 4 eggs, but recipe describes 2 eggs. List says grate orange zest but recipe says add lemon zest. Hope I’ve made the right choices.
Hi Penny, apologies for the delayed response as I have been away. This recipe calls for 2 eggs. I’ll update it now. Thanks!