Coconut semolina cake turned into mini muffins from the cookbook, A Mid-East Feast.
I was so ready for frankenstorm Sandy.
We had the generator up on the front steps ready to go, installed a new sump pump outside the basement door (after finding out the old one was burned out) so this didn’t happen again, extended the downspouts from the house out away from the foundation and even baked these expecting spend some serious time indoors over the next few days.
So of course we never even lost power and the extent of damage on our property was my pretty purple potted mum being blown out of it’s pot across the lawn. Figures.
I know others weren’t so lucky and this is not meant to downplay their damage and devastation, just a statement about my own, on the 2 acre piece of property I inhabit and the laws of irony.
*Disclaimer for my mother in particular who thought I was being harsh, isolated and insensitive by saying something to that affect on facebook yesterday. Oy, vey.
I’ll be honest, I was probably least excited about this cake out of the 3 recipes picked from the cookbook, An Edible Mosaic.
Not because it didn’t look and sound delicious, but more so because I didn’t want a cake that served 10-12 in my house, tempting me at every pass through the kitchen 5 days before leaving for Florida and potential bathing suit time.
So I made some minute changes.
Firstly, it’s not a cake as you can blatantly see.
They’re perfect little bite-sized mini muffins cakes instead. I halved the recipe and since I didn’t have any cake pan small enough for the batter without spreading it about 1/8 of an inch thin, I used a mini-muffin pan.
Personally, I think it’s genius and I love their size and portability.
As in porting them out.of.my.house so I don’t eat them all.
Secondly, I cut back on the sugar (see notes in recipe for specifics).
After reading Rachel’s post and remembering the PW Wednesday Billie’s Italian cream cake experience I had a feeling this was a must.
I personally have a very low tolerance for sugar. I just don’t like excessively sweet things anymore. The childhood Gina is like “lady, wtf happened?!” And the adult Gina is like “girl, I don’t know but this sugar stuff is whack”.
I’m not saying the original recipe was excessively sweet (since I didn’t even try it as written), I’m just saying that I’ve never met a cake recipe that couldn’t stand some reduction in sugar and still come out to my liking.
So I made this for me and my taste.
All that being said, they came out stellar. I’m seriously in love with this recipe.
The semolina flour is just perfect for this kind of dessert.
If you’ve never had it, it’s hard to explain but it’s kind of dry and chewy in a good way so that when you pour a syrup over it, it absorbs the liquid beautifully and keeps the cake moist while still maintaining a fun, chewy texture.
It’s definitely different than any all-purpose or pastry flour out there and I would not recommend a substitution of the sort.
Because of the reduction in sugar, these are pretty much the best accompaniment to afternoon tea (the hint of orange in them is tea-pairing perfection) or even a breakfast treat if you’re feeling sassy at 7am.
The other best part about this recipe? It didn’t use any eggs.
I have a hard time letting go of my organic, cage free, pasture raised, <insert every other hippie farm saying here>, exorbitant eggs for anything other than savoring sunny side up in the morning so this was a serious bonus to me.
I’m betting you all aren’t as psycho weird as me on that, but just throwing it out there.
Other Mid-East Feast posts:
Spicy chicken shawarma wraps | Zucchini fritters
Coconut Semolina Mini Muffins
Ingredients
Coconut Semolina Cake
- 2 batches Scented Sugar Syrup, recipe below
- 1 tablespoon tahini, to grease the baking pan
- 2 cups 305 g ?ne semolina ?our
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 cup 115 g sugar
- 1/2 cup 115 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 11/2 cups 375 ml milk
- 1 cup 75 g desiccated, unsweetened coconut
- 3 tablespoons blanched almonds
Scented Sugar Syrup
- 1 cup 225 g sugar
- 1/2 cup 125 ml water
- 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water
Instructions
Coconut Semolina Cake
- Prepare the Scented Sugar Syrup.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C); brush the tahini on the inside of a 10-inch (25 cm) round baking pan.
- Whisk together the semolina, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the butter and then the milk until combined, and then fold in the coconut.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread it out evenly; let it sit for 10 minutes.
- Score the batter into 1-inch (2.5 cm) square or diamond shapes with a sharp knife, periodically dipping the knife in hot water and drying it off before continuing to score the batter; place 1 almond in the center of each diamond.
- Bake until the sides and top are golden brown, about 30 minutes. (If the sides are brown but the top isn’t, you can broil the cake for a couple minutes to brown the top.)
- Once out of the oven, cut the cake along the lines you scored. Slowly pour the cooled syrup onto the hot cake. Let the cake sit at room temperature 2 hours to absorb the syrup before serving.
Scented Sugar Syrup
- Add the sugar, water and lemon juice to a medium, thick-bottomed saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat, giving the pan an occasional swirl and skimming off any foam on the surface.
- Turn heat down slightly and boil 2 minutes (if you want thin syrup-you do for this recipe) and up to 5 minutes (if you want thick syrup), swirling the pan occasionally. (The syrup will thicken more upon cooling.)
- Turn off heat and stir in the rose water or orange blossom water; cool to room temperature, then use.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Greasing the pan with tahini was original to the recipe? Interesting idea, never heard/thought of doing that before. I’ll bet this would have been excellent (and very Middle-Eastern tasting) with the rosewater, too. You are very smart making a smaller batch and using mini-muffin tins, great strategy for getting through the upcoming holiday season with all of its baked goods.