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Semolina Cake with Herb and Citrus Syrup

Adapted with changes from Azlin Bloor, Lins Food

Italian semolina cakes are traditionally desserts made with a rich cornmeal or grain created for celebrations like Carnival. This moist dense cake incorporates a touch of sweetness when it is adorned with an infused simple syrup of perfume-y lemons or citrus. With our semolina cake, we used fresh-picked Castello rosemary and lemons to create a dynamic flavor profile pairable with our Pinot Bianco and Chardonnay – a perfect treat for anytime of day!

Cake Batter

220g (7 4/5oz) fine semolina (semolina flour)

120g (4 1/5oz) ground almonds (almond flour)

1 tsp baking powder

240g (8 2/5oz) salted butter

240g (8 2/5oz) caster or granulated sugar

3 large eggs

80g (1/4 cup) Lemon Curd

Rosemary and Lemon Syrup

125ml (1/2 cup) water

100g (1/2 cup) white sugar

1 lemon – rind and juice

3 sprigs rosemary

2 Tbsp limoncello (optional)

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180˚C/160˚C Fan/350˚F.
• You will need a 20cm (8″) round cake tin. Grease and line it as required. Mine doesn’t need lining, just greasing. Set aside.
• Place the semolina, ground almonds and baking powder in a large bowl, mix and set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar for 1 whole minute until pale and light in texture. Depending on the speed of your mixer, you can reduce the time.
• Add the eggs one at a time, along with a tablespoon of the semolina mix with each egg. Beat at high speed for a good 30 seconds between each addition. Adding flour with your egg, or in this instance, semolina and almonds, will stop the eggs from curdling. I do this for all my cakes. If your batter does curdle, it doesn’t matter, your cake will still be fine, if just marginally different in texture.
• Fold in the lemon curd, then the semolina and almond mix. Fold in or beat on the lowest setting.
• Pour your cake batter into your prepared tin and bake for 1 hour. If your oven runs hot, check it at the 55 min mark. 
  • Side note: If you notice your cake browning at the top darker than you prefer, take some foil to cover the edges and top about 30-35 minutes into baking. 
• Take it out of the oven and pour half the syrup all over. Leave to cool slightly before taking out of the tin and serving. Folks with a sweet tooth, can add their more syrup to the individual slices.

Rosemary Syrup

• Use a vegetable peeler and peel long strips off the lemon, then slice these strips thinly.
  • We peeled (2) lemons for extra flavor!
• Place the lemon strips, water and sugar in a saucepan on low heat and bring to a simmer. Cook for 5 minutes.
• Take it off the heat and add the lemon juice and rosemary sprigs. Leave to cool for 5 minutes, then strain and stir in the limoncello if using. Keep the syrup aside until needed. You can hang on to the lemon peel and rosemary for garnish

Notes:

Yield: 12 servings

Prep & Cook Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Salute!