In the neighborhood of Clignancourt on Boulevard Ornano, there is an outdoor market I sometimes go to on Sundays to get my produce. It's probably not a neighborhood you've been to while visiting Paris–it's on the edge of the city and there's not much to see in the way of tourism. However, along the street where the marché happens there is a strip of Middle Eastern shops, sort of like NYC bodegas in that they somehow have everything you could ever want crammed into a very small shop and that, even though they're all sell more or less the same items, you always have a favorite.
After a somewhat stressful morning of shopping at the market (that particular market has very narrow sidewalks and is very busy, resulting in a claustrophobic bottleneck situation–I told you, not a tourist destination), Laur and I almost walked right by the shop. But something called to us, so we veered off the chaotic market path and into Narnia. You have to keep in mind that when I stumbled upon the Best Store Ever, it was after months of searching for a Middle Eastern grocer in our neighborhood where I could find good spices, tahini, labneh, aromatics, and more for a decent price. I was in heaven. To my right was a wall of halva of all flavors, to my left were shelves upon shelves of different types of nuts. There was dried fruit hanging from the ceiling, mint tea and instant Turkish apple tea, orange blossom, rose water, giant sacks of rice and other grains, and way at the back of the store, a heavenly corner of spices and herbs. I must have been visibly overcome with emotion because the very sweet man working there came to make sure I was okay. Obviously we bought a big jar of za'atar, a huge tub of tahini, at least 5 bags of spices (you know it's the real stuff when they come in bags rather than small glass vials), a bottle of rose water, halva for good measure, and then Laur cut me off. Fair enough.
There was no sign with a store name and it didn't appear on my phone's map, so I saved it as a pin marked "Best Store Ever". Every time I get to go back, I am overcome with an inexplicable childlike glee and buy way too much. I may have decided to make Ottolenghi's Pistachio and Rose Water Semolina Cake just as an excuse to go there. (Don't worry, I'll give you my version of that recipe soon as well.) Could I have bought semolina and pistachios elsewhere? Probably. Would it have come in a smaller bag? Definitely. Do I regret it? Are you kidding?
All this to say that on Easter, over a month into quarantine, I found myself running low on regular flour and with an abundance of semolina. So naturally I searched the internet for semolina cake recipes, and came across Sugar Salt Magic's recipe, based on a Greek and Turkish sweet tea cake called revani. I reduced the amount of sugar, swapped the orange zest for a mixture of clementine, lemon, and lime since that's what I had on hand, and baked it in a shallow tart pan for crispy edges. Next time I might reduce the sugar even more or substitute honey for some of it, and experiment with orange blossom water in the syrup. I'll let you know when I try, but I can assure you that as-is, it's a damn good cake.
Ingredients
For the cake
160 g/1 cup fine semolina flour
130 g/1 cup all-purpose or cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
100 ml (just under 4 cups) orange juice
Zest of 1 orange/clementine, 1 lemon, and 1 lime
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
226 g/2 sticks unsalted butter - softened
200 g/1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
For the syrup
100 ml orange juice
100 g/ 1/2 cup sugar
For the topping 4 g Labneh or 1 single-serve cup of plain/unsweetened Greek yogurt
Crushed pistachios for decorating (optional)
Steps
Preheat the oven to 350ºF/170ºC. If you are using a traditional cake pan, grease and line the base with parchment paper. If using a tart pan with a removable bottom like me, you don't need to do anything.
Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl and set aside.
In another bowl, rub zest into sugar until well incorporated and aromatic. Add butter and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. TIP: If your butter isn't very soft, you may want to cut it into smaller pieces before adding it to the sugar.
Beat eggs one by one into sugar butter mixture until well incorporated.
Use a silicone baking spatula to gently fold in about a third of the flour mixture until just incorporated, then add half of the orange juice. Repeat until all flour and juice have been combined, and add vanilla. At this point the batter may look a bit split, but keep going - it'll turn out fine!
Pour the batter gently into your prepared pan and shake side to side very gently to even it out.
Bake for 35-45 minutes depending on your oven and the type of your pan*. It should be golden and a toothpick should come out cleanly (it may have a few semolina crumbs) when it's done. *Our oven is evil and likes to burn the outside of everything no matter what I do, so I bake everything on lower heat than what I advise most people to do. Regardless, every oven is different so baking times vary. Mine bakes in 30-35 minutes in a shallow tart pan, but a deeper cake pan will need closer to 40-45 minutes.
In the meantime, make the syrup: combine orange juice and sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer uncovered until the liquid has reduced and then leave to cool.
Once the cake is baked, leave to cool completely. Use a toothpick or fork to poke holes all over the top, and drizzle some of the syrup all over it, using a brush or baking spatula to spread it around. Conserve the rest of the syrup for serving.
If serving the full cake, spread the labneh or yogurt on it evenly and decorate with crushed pistachios. Serve with more syrup drizzled over it. TIP: If you plan to eat it over the course of several days, I would recommend topping with yogurt, pistachios, and more syrup per serving so that you can leave the cake at room temperature. Otherwise, you will need to refrigerate it to avoid spoiling the yogurt, which will dry out the cake. If you do have leftovers already topped with yogurt, cut it into pieces and store in a container with a lid that seals well; let each piece come to room temperature before you plan to eat it.
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