I first tried Revani or Kalo Prama at a small roadside restaurant in Cyprus called Sevket’s. This cake was such a perfect ending to a delicious meal; it was so cool, sweet, and so surprising that I immediately had to try it at home! Serve this delightful cake well chilled with plenty of yoghurt or whipped cream.
Prep Time 15 minutesmins
Cook Time 45 minutesmins
Total Time 1 hourhr
Serves 16Slices (approx)
Ingredients
for the syrup:
225gwhite sugar
250mlwater
50mllemon juice
for the cake:
grated zest of 1 lemon
150gfine semolina
100gplain or all purpose flour
1pinchsea salt
2tspbaking powder
2large eggs
150gwhite sugar
150mlsunflower or other vegetable oil
250mlunsweetened Greek yogurt
2tsporange blossom water
to serve:
2tspfinely chopped pistachios
1tbspdessicated coconut
Scan the QR Code to view the online recipe with detailed instructions, photos, hints, tips and more at daysofjay.com
Instructions
ZEST LEMON: Zest the lemon using a fine grater and set aside for the cake.
MAKE SYRUP: In a medium saucepan, combine the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Add the lemon juice and boil gently for about 10 minutes until syrupy. Set aside to cool.
PREPARE OVEN: Heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4. Oil or grease a 23-25cm rectangular or oval baking pan or ovenproof dish.
MIX DRY INGREDIENTS: In a large mixing bowl, combine the semolina, flour, salt and baking powder and mix well.
COMBINE INGREDIENTS: In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, oil, yoghurt, lemon zest and orange blossom water until well combined. Add the wet ingredients to the semolina mixture, mix well, then pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake in the centre of the preheated oven for 35 minutes until golden and firm in the middle.
COOL AND DRENCH: Allow the cake to cool on a rack (in the baking pan) for 5 minutes, then poke holes all over it using a skewer. Pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake and let it cool in the pan completely before topping with pistachios and coconut, refrigerating until very cold.
SLICE: Slice into approximately 16 diamond-shaped pieces and serve.
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions:
I like to make Revani with lemon juice and orange blossom water, but you could mix things up and use orange juice and orange zest with rose water, though it will be a little sweeter. If you’d prefer not to use vegetable oil in this cake, replace it with an equal quantity of melted unsalted butter at room temperature.
You can use coarse semolina if you like, but I prefer finely ground semolina, as it looks more delicate and has a nicer mouthfeel.