
Yoghurt & Lemon Cake
A variation of the traditional ‘Ravani’ (semolina based syrupy cake). Aromatic, light and fluffy with a wonderful lemony aroma. Best enjoyed with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a strong cup of Greek coffee.
Makes one 28-cm (11-inch) cake
Cooking time: Approx. 1 hour
Ingredients for the Cake
- 200g butter (room temperature)
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 5 eggs (yolks & whites separated)
- 250g sheep’s yoghurt
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup fine semolina
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- Zest of 2 lemons
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients for the Syrup
- 3 cups sugar
- 2 ½ cups water
- 1 small cinnamon stick
- Juice of 2 lemons
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C (356°F)
- Grease a 28-cm (11-inch) round metal or glass cake pan with butter and set aside
- Put the butter and sugar into a large bowl and mix until the mixture becomes fluffy (5-10’)
- In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they form a thick meringue
- Going back to the butter and sugar mixture, add the egg yolks, yoghurt, vanilla extract, and lemon zest and mix for 2-3’
- In a 3rd bowl, add the flour, semolina, and baking powder and mix
- Gradually add the egg yolk mixture and egg white mixture (in turns) to flour & semolina mixture, mixing with a spatula until you have a fluffy, well combined texture
- Pour cake batter into tin, lower the oven temperature to 175°C (347°F) and bake for approx. 1 hour
Now let’s make the syrup (make sure you do this while cake is baking in order for it to have cooled down once cake is out of oven)
- Put the water, cinnamon stick and sugar into a medium sized pot and over high heat (whilst mixing) bring to a boil
- Add the lemon juice, reduce heat and simmer (keep stirring) for about 5 more minutes
- Set aside and let it cool
When the cake is ready, remove from oven..
- Let it stand for 5’
- With a sharp knife, score the cake with diagonal lines in one direction, then in the opposite direction to form a diamond pattern
- Pour the cooled syrup over the still warm cake
- Cool completely before serving
This cake will keep at room temperature for about 5 days or in the refrigerator for 10 days