Semolina Syrup Cakes

These mini cakes are delicious with a bright lemon flavour thanks to the syrup and the glaze

I love baking cakes in mini brioche tins as it looks so much more pretty than in a normal tin. Flipped upside down, it creates the perfect base for a dollop of whipped cream or a drizzle of glaze. That is exactly what I have done here with these semolina syrup cakes.

The semolina gives the cake an interesting texture, crumbly almost. The syrup which is soaked through it however, adds to the moistness and brings a bright zing to the recipe. To make it look extra special, I like to add a lemon glaze made with icing sugar too. You can easily omit this if you prefer.

I bake these in mini brioche moulds because I enjoy the way it looks, but if you do not have brioche tins, a normal cupcake/muffin tin would work as well.

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FOR THE SEMOLINA SYRUP CAKES

• 200g salted butter
• 60ml olive oil
• 200g caster sugar
• zest of 2 lemons
• 60ml lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 140g semolina
• 200g ground almonds
• 4 large eggs, separated

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius. Grease 12 muffin tins, or six mini brioche tins with butter and then lightly flour them. You can also use cupcake liners if you are using muffin tins.
2. Place the butter, olive oil, sugar and lemon zest in a bowl and cream until light and fluffy, about three minutes.
3. Add in the egg yolks and continue to mix.
4. Add in the lemon juice, baking powder, salt, semolina and ground almonds and mix to combine.
5. Lastly, whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold it into the mixture.
6. Spoon into the muffin tins and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

FOR THE LEMON SYRUP

• 100g caster sugar
• 120ml lemon juice
• 1 cinnamon stick

METHOD

1. Place the lemon juice, sugar and cinnamon stick into a pot and boil over medium heat, until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Continue to simmer for 3 more minutes.
3. When the cakes come out of the oven, wait 15 minutes to release them from the tin, so they are loose in the tin. Then pour over the syrup and let it soak in for 5 minutes before unmoulding.

FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

• 90ml lemon juice
• 300g icing sugar

METHOD

1. Place the icing sugar into a bowl and slowly add in the lemon juice until a thick glaze forms.
2. Spoon over the cooled, syrup drenched cakes.

Recipe by adventureswithsugar.com