This cake is gluten free with semolina and almonds at it’s heart. Otherwise known as sand cake at home due to its texture resembling fine sand.
Ingredients:
350g unsalted butter, softened and diced into cubes plus 25g for greasing.
250g/8oz caster sugar
500g/1lb semolina
6 large eggs
3 heaped teaspoons of baking powder
350g ground almonds
50g whole almonds
For the syrup:
Juice of 4 large lemons
100g/4oz caster sugar.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°c (170° for fan assisted ovens).
Beat the butter and sugar together until the sugar has been completely amalgamated and the mixture is smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time whilst continually beating. Once fully incorporated, gradually add the semolina, then the ground almonds, and finally the baking powder.
Mix all ingredients well. The mixture can feel quite heavy and will resemble wet sand.
Take a large baking dish, around 20cm x 30cm. Grease the sides and bottom of the dish well with unsalted butter
Pour in the mixture then smooth over , adding the whole almonds in a diagonal pattern.
Place in the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. Check the cake is cooked through by placing a skewer in the centre. It should come out clean.
In the meantime, make the syrup. Take the juice from the lemons and add to a small saucepan with the sugar. Over a low heat, stir until the sugar dissolves and cook until the liquid thickens into a syrup, around 8 minutes.
Once the cake is cooked, remove from the oven and score into squares but do not cut through the cake. Pour over the hot syrup, allowing the cake to fully absorb all the liquid.
Once the cake has cooled, cut into squares and serve.