Semolina Syrup Cake

This is a delicious, moist orange-y cake from Bill Granger's "Every Day".

125g butter, softened

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup thick greek (natural) yoghurt

3 eggs, separated

zest of one orange, finely grated

1 cup plain flour

1 cup fine semolina

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup ground almonds

1/3 cup milk

blanched almonds, to decorate

Syrup

1 cup caster sugar

Juice of one orange

1 tsp orange blossom water or rose water

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease and line a 22cm square cake tin. Let the paper hang over the edges to help you get the cake out later.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in the yoghurt, eggs and orange zest. Add the flour, semolina, baking powder, almonds and milk and mix gently to combine.

In a separate bowl beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Fold 1/3 of the egg whites into the flour/butter mixture. Then very gently fold in the remaining egg whites.

Pour into the tin. Decorate with almonds. Bake for 40 minutes or until the cake is golden and a skewer poked in the middle comes out clean. Do not overcook.

In the meantime make the syrup. Make the orange juice up to 1 cup of fluid with water. Put the orange juice mixture, sugar and orange blossom water in a small saucepan. Bring slowly to the boil. Simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Pour a cold syrup over the hot cake. Leave the cake to cool in the tin completely.

This cake would be great served with natural yoghurt or sour cream.