Eating well and healthily is not about denial. It’s about good choices. So most nights our dessert consists of fresh fruit and a few simple cookies. There is an Italian cookie made from cornmeal that I adore and which has become so difficult to come by. But I digress. However, for Shabbat and other holidays I like to make something just a bit more special. This Olive Oil Orange Semolina Cake by Adeena Sussman was this week’s dessert.

Olive Oil Orange Semolina Cake cake uses olive oil instead of butter so it can be eaten with a meat meal under the laws of Kashrut. But I also love an olive oil cake because unlike when you use butter, there is no laborious creaming of the butter and sugar. Which means, no electric mixer and this comes together quickly. And as with many Middle Eastern style semolina cakes, there is always a sugar syrup to pour over it, which keeps the cake from getting dry and improves the flavor with each passing day.

Curiously the cake recipe only calls for baking powder as a rising agent. Generally if your cake contains an acid you also want to include baking soda. I made the cake as written but next time I might try adding some baking soda.

The semolina flour adds a bit of crunch to the outside of the cake and the all-purpose flour produces a finer crumb. The surprise ingredient is ground sumac. I absolutely love sumac and use it in most of my salads and roasted meats and vegetables. It’s made from a deep red pulverized berry and is used all over the Middle East. It adds a tangy, fruity, citrusy bite which absolutely complements the orange in this cake.

I further enhanced the orange flavor by using a fine orange infused olive oil. I love the oils that I get from Sciabica in California. It’s not essential and you can simply use a good quality buttery olive oil.

The original recipe called for blood oranges in the syrup and navel oranges in the batter. I used Cara Cara oranges in the batter and navel oranges in the syrup because that is what I had. I don’t believe that it made a significant difference.

Olive Oil Orange Semolina Cake is not overly sweet despite the sugar syrup. I paired it with a bit of whipped cream, but a lightly sweetened yogurt or mascarpone would also be delightful. And, of course, it can just be eaten as is adorned only with some chopped roasted pistachios.

So the next time that you need a quick dessert that isn’t overly fussy and pairs especially well with Middle Eastern or North African food, give this a try. There is another Orange Semolina Cake recipe on my blog which is a Cypriot specialty. Frankly, you can’t go wrong with either one although there are differences.

RECIPE

Yield: One 9 X 5-inch Loaf cake

INGREDIENTS

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 cup olive oil (I used an orange-infused olive oil, but a plain buttery or light olive oil would work)

3 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla paste or extract

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

Zest and juice of 2 large oranges (I used Cara Cara but navels or even large Blood Oranges would work)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups semolina

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon ground sumac

For the Syrup:

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup blood (or regular) orange juice

Pinch of salt

Garnish

1/4 cup coarsely chopped roasted pistachios, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Generously grease a 9 X 5-inch loaf pan with oil or vegetable spray. (If you like, line the bottom with parchment paper for easy cake extraction). In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and frothy. While whisking, slowly drizzle in oil, then whisk in vanilla, sugar, salt and zest.

Mix in the flour, orange juice, semolina, baking powder and sumac until just combined. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden and hard to the touch, 45 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan and onto a cooling rack. 

Let the baked cake cool for 10 minutes; loosen the edges with a knife and remove to a wire rack. (If you used parchment paper, the cake should come right out.) Use chopsticks to poke holes in the cake, drizzle some of the syrup over the cake, and garnish with pistachios. 

Make the orange syrup:

While the cake is baking, combine the sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, reduce to low and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside and allow the syrup to cool.