GREEK SYRUP CAKE

Ek sit vir julle nog ‘n wenner Griekse dis op. Revani. Die klem lê op die “ni” in die uitspraak. Hierdie koek het ek baie by my Griekse vriendin geëet, een van die lekkerste koeke wat ek nog ooit geëet het.
Ek sit ons goeie kosmaat Annette Gault se resep vir julle op. Probeer gerus… it’s love at first bite.

RAVANI/REVANI – from my Greek mother-in-law, Helen

There are many variations of this GREEK SEMOLINA CAKE but this one is the very best I have ever tasted and have been baking it since 1970. There is also a Turkish cake that is similar and some people use orange juice and zest

Oven temperature is 180° C but for some reason I have had to bake it between 160° C and 170° C here in UK (May just be my oven?)
Adjust temperature down for fan oven according to your own brand of oven

Cake:
1 cup flour
1 cup semolina (or taystee wheat)
½ Cup butter
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs – separated
zest of 1 medium sized lemon
1 cup milk (may be more or less, depending on the semolina and how it absorbs the liquid. The mixture must be thick-ish but still pourable)
Syrup:
1 ½ cup sugar
1 ½ cups water
juice of ½ a lemon

Boil syrup ingredients together for 5 minutes after cake is in oven and just bring back to the boil once cake is about to came out of oven.
This syrup gets poured very slowly over the cake straight out of the oven so that it gets absorbed evenly – it helps to use a tablespoon to ensure even absorption

Cake:
Sift dry ingredients for the cake. Beat butter.
Slowly add sugar and beat till light and pale, adding the egg yolks one by one together with a tablespoon of dry ingredients to prevent curdling, beating continuously on a low speed till pale and fluffy.
Fold in lemon zest and dry ingredients alternately with milk.
Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites and pour into an oblong oven dish approximately 24 x 32 cm.
Bake at 180° C for 40 to 45 minutes or till a test pin comes out clean.
Pour boiling syrup over cake as explained earlier.
Leave in oven dish till completely cold.
Now you can either just sieve icing on top or sprinkle with crushed walnuts/pecan nuts /roasted almonds.
The traditional way to slice it is to slice diagonally across the dish both ways, rendering diamond shaped pieces or serve straight from dish. You can also add up to a Cup of roughly crushed nuts of your choice to the mixture for a completely different taste and texture.
I like pecan nuts and mother-in-law likes roasted, crushed almonds.

Nota:
My vriendin het my geleer dat jy ook ‘n koppie gerasperde beskuit kan gebruik i.p.v semolina, maar semolina is maklik verkrygbaar by ons.

Resep geplaas deur Louise Groenewald