Immerse yourself into this lightly textured, delicate lemon, semolina and yoghurt cake (Ravani). What gives this cake it’s wonderful delicate flavour and texture is the right proportion of semolina, almond meal and yoghurt and the delicate tones of just enough sweetness and spice from the syrup.
Syrup desserts with nuts and semolina are synonymous with Greek cooking. Traditionally they can be quite dense and rich with the rich sugar syrup soaking into the cake. Modern times call for some adjustments. This is a lighter more delicate and less sweet version of this wonderful Greek classic. So grab a second piece because it’s alright to do so. Syrup here is not the sole star of the show as you would find in the traditional versions of this cake. Rather, the aroma of cinnamon and lemon is the star with the sweetness being the undertone.
Browsing through the ingredients you will see that there’s less butter and less sugar. What gives this cake it’s wonderful delicate flavour and texture is the right proportion of semolina, almond meal and lemon. As well, greater care is taken when incorporating the egg white to yield that delicate, lighter texture.
Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Beat the butter, olive oil, lemon zest and sugar together, until they are light and fluffy. Add the yolks one at a time, alternating with a little of the juice. Beat until well incorporated. Sift the flour, almond meal, semolina and baking powder. Fold half the flour mixture into the butter , then stir in the yoghurt. Add the remainder of the flour mixture. Lastly gently fold the stiff egg whites into the batter until just mixed through. Line your 20cm baking tin. Pour batter into lined tin. Sprinkle flaked almonds Bake in a fan forced oven for 45-50 minutes at 180 Degrees Celsius. Pour the syrup ingredients into a small saucepan and simmer gently for twenty minutes. Allow to reduce a little but not by half as you normally would. Pour cold cake with the hot syrup. Use thick pot-set greek yoghurt. If your in Australia, refer to the product recommendation for the yoghurt. Now each oven will vary - how much heat it releases and how efficient it is so do keep an eye on your cake. Note the golden colour to the cake. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Lemon, Semolina and Yogurt Cake ( Ravani , ραβανι )
Ingredients
Instructions
Notes
Recommended Products
Submit your review | |
What I loved about this semolina cake, the syrup was lovely and added just the right amount of sweetness - like you said.
The cake was not dense. Thank you xx again
I love this recipe. My yiayia used to make it, and wanted to surprise my mum with it. We will be making it again, … lots of times.
Looks yummy 🙂
Thank you 🙂
Lovely 🙂
Thank you Sophie!
Your welcome 🙂 Hope all is good with you 🙂
Perfectly baked beautiful cake !!
Hello! Hope you have been well. Thank you … It is a lovely cake.
Gorgeous cake! Looks delicious 🙂
Thank you very much Lisa. It is a hit.
Look amazing and very very delicious 🙂
Thank you it is always very nice. Sweeten up or down it’s delicious either way.
Love such lemony and moist cakes. Looks delicious! 🙂
Yes, thank you so much. It is a favorite
Bookmarked to make soon!
😊