Sticky Semolina Cake

This Middle-Eastern inspired cake is from Nigella Lawson's Feast. This cake tastes divine and like many other cake recipes from Nigella, this is also incredibly easy to make; everything is done in a food processor. I love the gritty texture of the cake provided by the semolina in place of flour. I actually used corn meal to make the cake gluten-free. I can eat gluten, but my friend Michelle can't. I'd like to see what's gonna happen though if she had gluten... I am a nice but weird friend.

The reason why this cake is so moist is because the cake was drenched with fragrant sugar syrup after baking. I would suggest making the syrup in advance though so that it has time to chill in the fridge.

The fragrant syrup is flavoured with rosewater and orange-flower water. Rosewater is not for everyone. I adore the scent of rosewater and its soft, sweet flavour. Use it sparingly, no more than a teaspoon here. If you add too much of it, it will over power the taste and feels like eating toiletry products (not nice) or your grandmother's potpourri bowl (also not very nice). However, if you can't stand it, just miss it out completely.

Sticky Semolina Cake
Recipe by Nigella Lawson
Makes 36

For the syrup
400 g caster sugar
250 ml water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon rosewater
1 teaspoon orange-flower water

For the cake
300 g semolina
150 g caster sugar
125 g butter
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
zest of 1 lemon
2 eggs
100 g Greek yoghurt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
36 whole blanched almonds

To make the syrup, dissolve the sugar in the water over a low heat then add the lemon juice. Turn up the heat and boil the syrup fiercely for 5 minutes. Take the pan off the heat, add the rosewater and the orange-flower water, then pour the syrup into a jug to cool. Put the syrup in the fridge to chill down further.

Preheat the oven to 180 C and butter a 23 cm square baking tin. Put all the cake ingredients, except the whole almonds in a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth batter. Tip into the cake tin and spread evenly. Dot the top with almonds in 6 rows of 6, placed equally apart. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, by which time the cake will have risen and become golden. Test with a cake tester to check it;s not doughy underneath.

Pour the cold syrup over the hot cake and leave to cool completely in the tin, Cut into 36 little squares, or however you like.