A thick, almost creamy Orange Semolina Cake. Bold and vibrant, with a strong citrusy flavor and a yogurt tang. Soaked in orange-cinnamon syrup, this cake is truly one of a kind.
This Orange Semolina Cake is basically a no-filo version of classic Greek Portokalopita Cake. If you like orange-flavored desserts, you'll love this one!
Moist, fragrant, and deeply satisfying with a citrusy intensity and syrupy sweetness.
Texture & Flavor
This syrupy cake is like a thick, baked semolina cream. Think of the dense, buttery texture of a classic butter cake. Only in this case, we use yogurt in place of butter.
The semolina soaks like a sponge. This helps lock the syrup into the cake. On top, the cake is garnished with thinly sliced orange peel. Which adds extra orange flavor, a beautiful finish, and a slightly bitter flavor that balances the overall sweetness of the cake.
Ingredients
- Eggs
- Greek Yogurt: Ideally thick, strained.
- Vegetable Oil: such as sunflower or corn oil. Olive oil will make the cake too dense, so we don't use it in this recipe.
- Orange Juice: We use it in both the cake batter and the syrup.
- Orange zest + Squeezed Orange Cups: The zest is added to the cake batter. While the orange cups/halves are cooked in syrup to soften, they are then thinly sliced to garnish the cake on top.
- Sugar: White sugar to make the cake and the syrup.
- Vanilla Extract: Or you can substitute almond extract if you prefer.
- Self-raising flour
- Semolina: For this cake, we use fine semolina, not coarse semolina. Note: Fine semolina is not semola flour; it's just finely ground semolina, a bit coarser than flour.
- Cinnamon Stick: Used to flavor the syrup. You can add star anise or green Cardammom in place of cinnamon or with it. Both of these spices go amazingly with the flavor of orange and will give a deeper spiced flavor to the cake!
Substituting Orange
You can make this cake using Clementines or even Lemons instead of oranges. Or even a mix of orange and one of the above citrus fruits. Clementines will yield a sweeter cake, while lemons will yield a less sweet cake with an even stronger citrus flavor. If you opt for lemons, go for a sweeter variety rather than an acidic one. For example, Meyer or Millsweet lemons.
How To Make
- To make this moist, orange semolina cake, begin by making the syrup. The syrup needs to be at room temperature before adding it to the cake. It's okay if it's still a bit lukewarm, but it shouldn't be hot.
- Next, beat the eggs with sugar until frothy and thickened. Don't rush this step. It's important because it adds airiness to the cake. Use your electric mixer on high speed with the whisk attachemnt on to achieve this. It takes a couple of minutes for the eggs to thicken. You know they're ready when they look very frothy and turn pale, whitish yellow.
- Then slowly, threadlike, mix in the vegetable oil as you keep beating the eggs. Combine yogurt with orange juice, zest, and vanilla extract, and add it in as well.
- Lastly, mix the semolina and flour, and add it gradually. Try not to overmix here, as it will compromise the cake's softness.
- Bake the cake until it sets and turns honey-golden on top. It might take 25 to 35 minutes, depending on how powerful your oven is. Check the center of the cake with a toothpick (it should come out clean) to avoid overbaking and to make it as moist as possible.
- Ladle the syrup over the hot cake. Finally, let the cake cool to room temperature before refrigerating.
The Syrup
Make the orange syrup: add the sugar, water, a stick of cinnamon, and orange juice to a small cooking pot (I use a 3-liter cooking pot for this), or a larger saucepan. Ideally, it should be filled by half or ⅔ so there's space for the syrup to bubble without spilling out of the pot.
Add the squeezed orange halves as well, after scooping the remaining pulp with a spoon. These will be used to garnish the top. But they also add more citrusy aroma.
Boil the syrup until it thickens slightly. Follow the cooking time stated in the recipe below. If the syrup thickens too much, it won't be properly absorbed by the cake.
Let the syrup come to room temperature as you prepare the cake. Then ladle it slowly over the hot cake.
Note: Don't refrigerate a syrupy cake while it's still warm. The sudden shift in temperature might make the syrup crystallize.
Serve With
Serve this yogurt semolina orange cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream on top. Or serve it plain, with some thyme-honey drizzled on top. If you like, you can dust with some ground cinnamon as well.
Recipe
Greek Orange Semolina Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For The Syrup:
- 500 grams (2½ cups) sugar
- 250 ml (1 cup) water
- 250 ml (1 cup) fresh orange juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 orange cups/orange halves from squeezed oranges
For The Cake:
- 250 grams (1 ¼ cups) sugar
- 5 medium-sized eggs
- 300 grams (1¼ cups) Greek yogurt
- 1 orange zested
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) corn or sunflower oil
- 160 ml (⅔ cup) fresh orange juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 180 grams (1½ cups) self-raising flour
- 200 grams (1 cup + 2 tablespoons) fine semolina (not flour)
Instructions
Make The Syrup:
- Scoop the insides of the 2 orange cups (orange halves) with a spoon to remove any remaining pulp and as much as possible from the white part.
- Add all the ingredients for the syrup (including the orange cups) to a small cooking pot or large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat.
- Cook the syrup for 5-6 minutes until slightly thickened. Time counts from the moment it starts to boil and bubble. Take off the heat and set aside.
Make The Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F.
- Combine semolina and self-raising flour.
- Mix yogurt, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Set aside.
- Beat eggs and sugar until frothy, thickened, and turn whitish in color. To do this, use your electric mixer with the whisk attachment on, at high speed.
- Pour oil threadlike into the eggs while beating.
- Add the yogurt mixture.
- Incorporate the flour-semolina mixture gradually. Once fully combined, turn off the mixer, don't overmix.
- Spray or brush a 23 x 33 cm (13 x 9-inch) baking pan with oil.
- Transfer the cake batter to the pan.
- Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Ladle the syrup over the cake. And leave it inside the oven with the oven's door open until it absorbs all of the syrup.
- Thinly slice the orange cups and sprinkle them over the cake to decorate.
- Cut the cake into 15 pieces.
- Let the cake cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 4-6 hours and serve!
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