Semolina Kumquat Cake
When I think of semolina I usually think of pasta. But this time I knew I wanted to do something different besides making a bunch of noodles. Semolina flour is made from pure durum wheat that has been grinded into a sandy texture. When added to a cake batter it creates a course texture which makes it ideal for absorbing a sweet sugar syrup. Just so happens a friend gifted me with a bag of her homegrown kumquats. As I said before, we pop them like candy around my house! So it was a no-brainer to me to make Kumquat Sugar Syrup. This Semolina Kumquat Cake is so easy to make and if your not into kumquats, just about any flavor of sugar syrup would work to top it off. I didn’t want to make the cake super soggy so I chose to add just about a cup of syrup after baking. It was perfect! Just enough juice with every bite. I saved the leftover syrup and used it to top morning waffles and even added some to coleslaw for dinner tonight! Yum!
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup Greek yogurt, plain or vanilla
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- pinch of salt
- 1 cup semolina flour
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1½ cups water
- 1 cup kumquats, sliced thin
- Prepare a 9″ round pan with cooking spray and parchment circle on bottom of pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer.
- Add eggs, one at a time and mix well.
- Add yogurt and mix well.
- In another bowl, mix together baking powder, salt and flours.
- Gradually add to wet mixture.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake 40 minutes until center is set.
- Allow cake to cool slightly then poke holes with skewer or toothpick.
- Pour syrup over cake (just about 1 cup). Use a fork to spread around kumquats.
- Let cake cool completely before serving.
- While cake is baking, make kumquat syrup.
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water.
- Heat over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves.
- Add sliced kumquats and simmer 10 minutes.
- Remove from heat and set aside.
