Lemon Semolina Cake

Lemon Semolina Cake - made November 6, 2016 from the Culinary Institute of America

I first blogged this recipe in the early days of my blog, almost 7 years ago. It's no coincidence that I put up a lemon recipe around this time of year again. My lemon tree is madly producing lemons and I can't keep up. This doesn't use a lot of lemons, just two or three, depending on the size and juiciness of the lemons but it makes a good cake, a bit different than the normal lemon buttermilk pound cake that I typically make to use up lemons. The semolina flour is what makes it a little different from the norm and gives it a slightly grittier texture.

If you click on the post title and see the original post from seven years ago, you'll see how I skimped on posting pictures and how non-picture-worthy that particular cake was. Fortunately, this time around, I was able to get the cake out of the pan more or less intact so it looks a bit better. It still has a very plain appearance but taste is more important than looks (to me) and this makes a good lemon cake.

It's best eaten warm though so after you brush it with the soaking syrup, feel free to cut into it a few minutes later for the best texture. Even after it's cooled to room temperature, I like to warm it up in the microwave for 10-15 seconds to revive the fluffiness of the texture. If you want to dress it up a little more, make a simple lemon glaze by combining powdered sugar with enough lemon juice for the consistency you want, pour it over the cake and sprinkle with sugared lemon zest.

Cake
10 ounces butter
14 ounces sugar
6 ounces eggs
Zest from 2 lemons
1 pound sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 ounces cake flour
5 ½ ounces semolina flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Soaking syrup
½ cup lemon juice
¼ cup water
½ cup sugar

1. Sift dry ingredients. Whip butter, sugar, zest and vanilla.
2. Slowly add eggs. Alternate dry ingredients with sour cream in 3 additions.
3. Pour into buttered and floured molds, ¾ full.
4. Bake at 325˚F – 350˚F, depending on shape (lower temp for large cake and longer baking time, higher temp for smaller loaf, 30-35 minutes).
5. Melt together ingredients for the syrup. Pour over the cake while the cake is hot. Put cake on icing grate, poke holes into cake, dab on syrup 3 to 4 times and give time between each time for syrup to soak in.