Lemon Semolina Cake

The sweet-sour taste of citrus combined with sugar always makes for a knock-out dessert. This cake uses 2/3 cup of semolina which gives the cake a lovely textural feel, since semolina, the heart of the durum wheat kernel, separated during processing is made up of tiny coarse grains. Most good-quality pasta, gnocchi and couscous are made from semolina and as I have recently discovered it is popularly used in puddings, cakes, porridge, pancakes and desserts as well.

Not heavy nor dry, accentuated with lemon syrup this cake is simply lemon-icious!

Serves 10

Ingredients: 125g unsalted butter, softened, 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon rind, 1 cup caster sugar, 2 eggs, 2/3 cup semolina, 1 1/2 cups self-raising flour, sifted, 1/2 cup milk

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Lemon syrup: 1 cup caster sugar, 1/2 cup lemon juice, strained, 1 small lemon, thinly sliced

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Method: Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan-forced. Grease a 6cm-deep, 20cm round (base) springform cake pan. Line base and side with 2 layers of baking paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter, lemon rind and sugar on high speed until pale and creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating between each addition. Stir in semolina, flour and milk. Spread mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make lemon syrup: Place sugar, lemon juice and 1/2 cup cold water in a saucepan over low heat. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until sugar has dissolved. Add lemon slices. Increase heat to high. Bring to the boil. Boil, without stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes or until mixture thickens.

Transfer lemon slices to a plate. Pour half the syrup over cake. Stand for 15 minutes. Turn out on to a plate. Arrange lemon slices over cake. Serve with remaining syrup.