Semolina, Olive Oil, and Honey Cake with Cherries

Excerpted from Eating Out Loud

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Semolina, Olive Oil, and Honey Cake with Cherries

Yield: 1 9-inch cake

This cake is sort of a mash-up between a basbousa (a Middle Eastern semolina cake) and the classic Mediterranean olive oil cake. It’s a refreshingly simple dessert with clean, subtle fruity notes from the oil (you’ll want to use a good one here) and a floral flavor. You can top it with just about anything. Cherries are my first choice, and figs, pomegranate, and apricots would be lovely, too, but go with whatever looks good at the market.

Eating Out Loud by Eden Grinshpan with Rachel Holtzman

Discover a playful new take on Middle Eastern cuisine with more than 100 fresh, flavorful recipes.

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Honey-Lemon Glaze

⅓ cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons honey
Juice of ½ lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

Olive Oil Cake

Unsalted butter for the pan
1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 cup semolina flour
1¼ cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 large eggs
¾ cup plain whole milk yogurt
½ cup whole milk
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup honey
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 orange

Whipped Yogurt

1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons powdered sugar
1 scant teaspoon vanilla extract

Serving

Powdered sugar, for dusting
1 cup pitted cherries or other seasonal fruit

All ingredients sugar Honey Lemon Unsalted Butter All-purpose flour Baking Powder Kosher Salt Eggs Milk Olive Oil Orange heavy cream Greek Yogurt Powdered Sugar Vanilla Extract Cherries

Make the honey-lemon glaze: In a small saucepan, combine the granulated sugar, honey, and ⅓ cup water and bring to a boil. When the sugar is dissolved, remove from the heat and add in the lemon juice.
Make the olive oil cake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round nonstick cake pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the semolina flour, all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, yogurt, milk, olive oil, honey, and lemon and orange zests. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, whisking thoroughly to combine.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a knife or cake tester comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Brush with the glaze and let the cake cool for at least 20 minutes in the pan before serving.
Make the whipped yogurt: In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or in a large bowl using a handheld mixer or a whisk), whip the cream on medium-high speed until it reaches soft peaks, about 5 minutes. Add the Greek yogurt, powdered sugar, and vanilla and whip again until the mixture is light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes.
To serve: Lightly dust the cake with powdered sugar. Serve with the whipped yogurt and cherries (or other seasonal fruit).

This cake can get pretty brown on top. To prevent this from happening, cover the top of the pan with foil halfway through baking.

Eden Grinshpan is the author of the cookbook Eating Out Loud, a television food personality, and the creator of the online platform Eden Eats. Known for her relatability, raw sincerity, goofiness, and big, bold veg-forward cooking, Grinshpan earned her culinary degree at Le Cordon Bleu in London and subsequently traveled and ate her way across Europe, India, Southeast Asia, and of course Israel, where she spent summers growing up. This exploration resulted in her culinary travel show for the Cooking Channel, Eden Eats, which she produced and hosted. She then went on to host television shows such as Log On & Eat with Eden Grinshpan and Top Chef Canada. Grinshpan splits her time between Toronto and New York with her husband, Ido, and…