I actually made half this recipe in a small round pan, which was plenty for our family. This is a sweet dense cake, perfect in small quantities and served with a cup of tea.
Prep Time20minutes
Cook Time35minutes
Total Time55minutes
Servings10-12
Ingredients
Coconut "Semolina" Cake
1tablespoontahinito grease the baking pan
2cupscorn flournot cornmeal
2teaspoonsbaking powder
½cuporganic sugar
½cupcoconut oilroom temperature
1½cupsalmond milk
1cupdesiccatedunsweetened coconut
3tablespoonsblanched almonds
Scented Honey Syrup
1cuphoney
½cupwater
½tablespoonfresh lemon juice
½tablespoonrose wateror orange blossom water
Instructions
Make Scented Syrup
Put the honey, water and lemon juice in 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, 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.
Coconut "Semolina" Cake
Preheat oven to 375°F; brush the tahini on the inside of a 10-inch round baking pan.
Whisk together the corn flour, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the coconut oil 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 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.
Recipe Notes
Recipe courtesy of An Edible Mosaic: Middle Eastern Fare with Extraordinary Flair by Faith Gorsky (Tuttle Publishing; Nov. 2012); reprinted with permission.