Orange semolina cake

My mum doesn’t much like cake, but she loves semolina, so this is one cake that I make for her all the time. The semolina makes it dense and is the perfect vehicle for the sweet orange blossom syrup that it drinks up when hot and baked. This cake is simple, sweet and perfect for when you are out and about.

FOR THE CAKE

• 80ml olive oil, plus extra for greasing

• 200g fine semolina

• 25g desiccated coconut

• 40g plain flour

• 175g caster sugar

• 125g Greek yogurt

• 190ml whole milk

• 2tsp orange blossom water

• 2tsp baking powder

• ½tsp bicarbonate of soda

FOR THE SYRUP

• Juice of 1 lime

• Juice of 1 lemon

• 50g caster sugar

• 70ml water

• 1 large orange

1 Lightly grease and line a 20cm square tin, ideally loose-bottomed if you have one.

2 Start by putting all the dry cake ingredients in a bowl: the semolina, coconut, flour and sugar. Mix well.

3 Now, pour the oil, yogurt, milk and orange blossom water into the dry ingredients and mix till you have an even cake batter. Leave covered for about 40 minutes to allow the semolina and coconut to soak up the liquid.

4 Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/gas mark 5.

5 Uncover the bowl, add the baking powder and bicarb and mix in well. Spoon the mixture into the prepared cake tin and spread into a thin, even layer. Bake for 35 minutes, till a skewer comes out clean.

6 While the cake is baking, make the syrup. Squeeze the juice of the lime and lemon into a small pan and add the sugar and the water. Slice the orange into thin slices and add to the syrup mixture. Pop on to the heat, bring to the boil and leave to simmer on the lowest heat for 20 minutes.

7 As soon as the cake is out of the oven, poke holes all over with a skewer. Slowly drizzle over the syrup right on to the hot cake. Spread the slices of orange all over.

8 Leave to cool in the tin for 30 minutes. Take out, slice and this sweet, zesty semolina cake is ready to eat.

‘This is one cake I make for my mum all the time’