This is the cake. The “I don’t feel like pulling out my mixer” cake. Or the “I’m no good at baking” cake. It’s even the “I just spent 24 hours on a plane and my brain is still at the beach” cake. This yogurt cake made with semolina flour and flavored with a bit of lemon simple syrup is the solution to all manner of cake-baking problems. It is a simple, one-bowl, foolproof cake recipe.
Despite my jet-lag and refusal to pull out my mixer, I wanted to bake this weekend. I knew it would have to be something simple, something that comes together in one bowl with very little effort.
The result is this moist, almost creamy, cake that is bright and tangy like the yogurt that is the main ingredient.
Over the years, this is a cake I’ve made again and again. It takes less than 15 minutes to make, and improves as it chills in the fridge for a day or two. And that one-bowl thing? Well, those are magic words to me now that I’m back in my dishwasher-less kitchen.
This cake needs no dressing up, but would be great served with fresh berries or even a dollop of honey-sweetened yogurt on top. I’ve made it with strawberries as well, which make a delicious, easy addition.
I slice the cake into 9 very generous portions which still have only 375 calories each, but you could easily slice it smaller for a no-guilt treat that everyone will love.
- Ingredients:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- juice from 1 lemon
- 1 cup semolina
- ½ cup sugar
- 1½ cup plain yogurt (preferably unsweetened low-fat or regular plain yogurt, although Greek yogurt will work)
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 8x8 glass baking dish with cooking spray or vegetable oil and line it with baking paper.
- To make the syrup, boil the water and sugar in a small saucepan until the sugar completely dissolves. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set aside and let cool completely.
- To make the cake, in a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until the sugar dissolves. Add yogurt and oil and mix well with a wooden spoon. Add the remaining ingredients all at once and stir very well until all of the ingredients are evenly incorporated and the batter is smooth.
- Bake just until the center of the cake is set and the top turns golden brown, 25-30 minutes.
- Immediately pour the cold syrup evenly over the surface of the warm cake (update: a few reviewers have mentioned that they didn't need the full portion of syrup; to get the amount just right, start by pouring half the syrup over top and letting it soak in; add the remaining half just until the cake looks moist but not saturated). Let the cake cool completely, or chill, before serving.
And just because I’m a sucker for pictures of towering slices of baked goods….
That cake looks so fluffy and soft.
Sweet as Sugar Cookies recently posted..Butterflake Rolls – SRC
This looks amazingly delicious and moist! Thanks for sharing with SRC. Yum.
Camilla @ Culinary Adventures recently posted..Lemon-Lavender Chicken {Chit Chat Chomp-Inspired}
Sounds like a delicious cake, I must try it:)
Glad it turned out well. I’ve made this many times, the recipe is quite forgiving. Sometimes I don’t measure accurately and it still turns out great
Three-Cookies recently posted..Swedish Pea Soup (Ärtsoppa) Recipe
I’m definitely going to try some of your variations – the chocolate version with plums on top from your site looks incredible! Thanks so much for the great recipe – I will absolutely make it again.
This definitely sounds like my kind of cake Jess! I could use a lemon from my tree!
Claire @ Claire K Creations recently posted..Corner Store Cafe Toowong
I have never used semolina flour before. And I’m intrigued! How would you compare it to all-purpose flour? I love yogurt and lemon together and this looks delicious Jess.
Anne ~ Uni Homemaker recently posted..Baked Eggs Picadillo Style
Anne – semolina flour has a rougher texture than all-purpose. It’s a tiny bit grainy, although it becomes smooth when baked in this cake. I always keep it around because I use it in this pizza dough that takes on a really nice texture and nutty flavor thanks to the semolina in it – http://www.food.com/recipe/rosie-daleys-pizza-dough-445146.
Semolina cake is similar to cornbread although the texture is softer and has buttery taste to it
The cake looks so moist. Great choice!
Gorgeous cake! I’m sure it’s delicious too!
melissa@IWasBornToCook recently posted..Homemade Strawberry Syrup (Secret Recipe Club)
I use semolina flour to make pasta but have never considered baking cake with it. Now I’m so curious to try this and see how it performs. It looks so moist and tasty.
angela@spinachtiger recently posted..Pavlova Cups with Basil Lime Cream, Fresh Berries
Angela, now pasta might need to be next on my list. I’ve always wanted to try making my own pasta with semolina flour, but haven’t been brave enough yet! This cake is a pretty good use for it in the meantime though. 😉
This looks amazing, Jess! There’s a Greek restaurant near me that brings out a slice of semolina cake at the end of every meal, and while it’s absolutely delicious, it’s also drenched in honey syrup (as is the case with most Greek desserts) and I find the delicate flavour of the semolina kind of gets drowned out by all that sweetness. I do love the nubbly texture the semolina adds, though.
I’ve been meaning to track down a lighter, less sweet version I can make at home, and this totally sounds like it’s the one. I’m adding this to my must-try list right now!
Isabelle @ Crumb recently posted..SRC: Curry Ice Cream with Mango and Pistachio
Your cake looks so moist and delicious and fabulous. I love how soft it looks – you got the perfect crumb and I just bet the light flavor is amazing. Yum! Love that it is ready so fast!
Nicole @ Daily Dish Recipes recently posted..Shrimp and Orzo for #SecretRecipeClub
Mmm, I LOVE yogurt cake – so moist and tasty. My Mom used to make it all the time when I was a kid – definitely my favorite! Love using semolina here, yum!
sara recently posted..SRC: Green Chile Cornbread
I’m not much of a baker, so this is my kind of cake! It looks so moist and delicious. I love the idea of pouring the lemon simple syrup over the top.
Lesa @ Edesia’s Notebook recently posted..SRC: Mint-Infused Watermelon Lemonade
This looks so moist and delicious!
Debra recently posted..Blackberry-Cucumber Water
Wow! This cake looks so moist and delicious. It sounds so tasty and easy to make too. Perfect!!
Kate | Food Babbles recently posted..Lemon Sponge Pie
This is so pretty and sounds delicious! I made a similar yogurt cake a few months ago, but I want to try this recipe too. Thanks!
Andi @ The Weary Chef recently posted..Coconut Flan Recipe AND a Pie Package Giveaway!
This sounds perfect for a lazy-day cake. It looks incredibly moist!
Cassie | Bake Your Day recently posted..Life Lately
THAT looks like a perfectly delicious cake. I love when they are simple like that.
This looks brilliant, simple, tasty, even relatively healthy!
I love this recipe. Thank you.
I am patently *not* a baker and I attempted this on a whim for Christmas 2013 and it was beyond my expectations! Absolutely perfect especially for those of us that don’t like super sweet things. Yum and thank you!
K
I love this cake and have made it many times. One problem i face is it doesn’t get cooked in the middle ? The sides are yum though. Plz suggest.
Nimisha – I’ve never had a problem with this cooking all the way through, but as you know, every pan/oven/kitchen is different. You might try covering it with foil during the last few minutes of baking and then extending the baking time for the whole cake. I’m not sure if that will solve the problem, but it will allow more heat to get to the middle of the dish without the edges and surface becoming too brown.
I tryed this it looked lovely untill I poured all the liquid syrup ontop now it’s soggy sickoly and very sticky.Do we have to use all the syrup? I think next time I won’t use any at all.
Hi Sandra – I always like the texture/taste with the syrup, but definitely skip it if the texture doesn’t suit you! The cake is definitely good either with or without the syrup.
I tried this recipe and it turned out great. Thanks, amazing recipe i’ll definitely make it again. 🙂
I was really bored today and came across this recipe(I’ve never baked a cake before). It’s perfect and delicious. I can’t believe I’ve created such a thing so will defo be using again. Thank you :))
Thank you for sharing this recipe ~ have made it twice. Both times turned out a bit ‘slab’ ~ that is, didn’t quite have the crumb texture you show in your pictures, but nevertheless, a tasty cake. I truly dislike sickly sweet cakes, so being able to add the syrup to suit yourself is how I like to serve it up.
Hi Jess, thanks for your recipe. It seems simple enough for a beginner like me to try out.
This looks amazing. I have so much semolina flour and I can’t possibly make homemade pasta all the time! I wonder if these will make good muffins….
Jina – they’d definitely work as muffins!
I have done this cake so many times and it is delicious. I am planning to do it in a 23cm round pan, but I am afraid it won’t turn out as good as usual. Do you think it would be fine?
Ami – sorry for the delay, but it will turn out great! I can say this for sure because I just made it over the weekend with strawberries in a round pan – planning to post it on the blog in the next few days. Hopefully you’ve already given it a shot, but I think you’ll like it this way.
Yes i did try it with strawberries also, and it turned out amazing, everybody loved it 🙂
I just made this cake last minute cos the boyfriend felt like something sweet. It literally took 5 minutes to put together and 20mins in my new oven and voila. Amazing. Light. Fluffy. The syrup was the perfect touch. Loved it and do did the boyfriend. Thanks for sharing.
That’s great to hear, Kylie – I’m so glad you liked it! And I love how easy it is, too!
Yumm yumm yumm! I was looking to make something easy and I came across this recipe and can I say it was super dooper yummy… So easy so delicious and everyone enjoyed it. . Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing the recipe.
So glad you liked it Insiya – it’s one of my favorites, especially when I’m short on time!
A friend gave me two bags of semolina and I had no clue what to do. The cake is baking now and it looks so fluffy! This recipe is going in my permanent book as one cup didn’t even put a dent in my semolina stock.
Hi, can we replace the sugar with honey?
Hi Isha – Sorry for the delay! Did you try this yet – I suspect it will work, but haven’t tried it myself.
mmm… looks yum yum yum. I am going to try this soon. It looks pretty just like that!
Tina recently posted..How to Make Easy Mac and Cheese
Made it for the first time tonight. So easy and yet soooooo delicious!
Just made this – WOW! Didn’t have enough yogurt so substituted 1/2 cup milk. Also, didn’t read instructions carefully before beginning and just dumped everything in together and whisked like mad. Also, as I can never leave well-enough-alone, I added half cup of dried apricot pieces and 1/4 cup pistachios. Husband thinks he’s died and gone to ‘cake heaven’. Used less than half syrup but put rest in glass jug for pouring over when serving.
A BIG hit at our house. Thanks heaps for great recipe!
Thanks for the recipe, I just made it and can’t wait for it to cool down – stole a small corner in the meantime!
For the syrup – I only used half a cup of water, half a cup of sugar, but the juice and some rind of a whole lemon – extra tangy, yay!
This is the best recipe for semolina cake! It works well in a round 7 inch diameter tin too. Really moist and came out of the oven with no cracks and splits. The cake itself was soft and moist. I think the yoghurt helps. My daughter said it was the best cake I made. I dressed it with salted caramel and chopped pistachios.
Awesome – thanks so much for the feedback Inez, and for the great variation idea. Salted caramel and pistachios sound incredible – that’s going on our to-make list!
The picture of the cake looks very delicious and soo yum. I have to try this recipe out and taste it for myself. Cant wait.
Everyone loved this cake. I was wondering if I can add the sugar in the batter instead of making syrup. I had a lot of syrup left over and a little sticky for kids.
You’re right Sahar – it’s definitely sticky! I haven’t tried adding sugar directly to the batter, but it’s a very forgiving cake, so I’d guess that would work. If you try it, please leave a comment so others can make that switch too!
After converting the recipe to metric and making some adjustments it turned out perfect. I used less sugar and used a lemon curd yoghurt for extra flavour. I also added blue poppy seeds for texture and brushed on lightly the lemon syrup. I made half in mini bundt tins and one in a small bundt tin. I cooked it for longer than stated at a higher temperature, I had mistakenly used the temp for convection and not fan assisted.
Sue – these tweaks sound amazing – love the lemon curd yoghurt and poppy seeds addition! I’m definitely going to try that!
Beautiful To eat on the day I made it and delicious the day after!.. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you liked it Lisa! It’s definitely a cake that holds up for a couple days!
Can’t wait to try this! It looks so moist!
I just made this cake using coconut yogurt instead of regular. I had to cook 50 minutes to reach a golden brown and done in centre. Havent’ tasted it yet, it’s still cooling.