Revani Recipe: Greek Semolina Cake with Syrup

5 from 1 vote

Revani Recipe: Greek Semolina Cake with Syrup

Are you searching for a traditional Greek revani recipe just like your grandma used to make? This foolproof, flavor-packed Greek semolina cake with syrup comes with many tested tips to help you nail it every time. The result? A moist, fluffy, orange-kissed Ravani cake that never disappoints. Forget soggy bottoms, dry bites, or bland flavor—this is the Greek syrup cake of your dreams.

👉 Tip: Make it a day ahead so the syrup has time to soak in evenly.

Prep Time35

Cook Time35

Resting Time4

Total Time5 10

Course: Dessert, Sweet

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean, turkish

Servings: servings

Calories: 427kcal

Author: Makos

Equipment

One 12-inch (30cm) round cake pan (see note#1 for other sizes)

Ingredients

For the Syrup:

2 cups water
2 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 cinnamon stick 2 inches long
2 pieces orange peel or lemon or lime
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons orange blossom water optional

For the semolina cake:

1 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons orange zest or lemon, lime
½ teaspoon mastic ground, optional - see note#2
1 pinch salt
2 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs See note#3
¾ cups orange juice
¾ cups melted butter
1 ⅔ cups fine semolina
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
5 teaspoon baking powder
crushed pistachios or desiccated coconut for the surface - optional
Extra butter and semolina for greasing the baking pan about 1 tablespoon each

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add the sugar, water, cinnamon and orange peel and to a pot or saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer for 5 minutes from the time it starts to boil. Take off the heat, add the lemon juice and the orange blossom water (if using) and set aside to cool.
👉 The syrup should be cool when added to Revani. Make it first to give it time to cool down.
Transfer the sugar, orange zest and mastic (if using) to a large mixing bowl and rub the mixture with your fingers. This releases the essential oils and makes the cake more fragrant.
Add the salt, vanilla and eggs and whip the mixture with a hand mixer (or a stand mixer with the whisk attachment) until light and fluffy. It should triple in volume after 5-6 minutes.
👉 The eggs whip much better when they're at room temperature or warm. Place them for a few minutes in a large bowl filled with warm water to raise their temperature (do this while prepping the rest of the ingredients).
With the mixer running, add the orange juice and the melted butter and mix until well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, combine the semolina, flour and baking powder and add the dry ingredients to the whipped egg mixture. Mix until combined and finish mixing using a rubber spatula. Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl once or twice.
Grease your baking pan with butter and coat with 1-2 tablespoons semolina. Pour the batter into the pan and preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
👉 Let the cake batter rest while the oven is preheating. This gives time to the semolina to absorb the liquids.
Bake for 30-35 minutes or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Don't worry if you accidentally over-bake this cake, the syrup will make it moist.
Once the Revani is out of the oven, let it cool for about 10 minutes (not longer). Then ladle/spoon the syrup gently and evenly over the cake.
Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for 3-4 hours or overnight for the syrup to distribute evenly. It’s even better the next day.
Optionally, sprinkle the Revani with desiccated coconut and slice into square or diamond shaped pieces. Can be served at room temperature or slightly chilled.

Video

Notes

Note #1 - Other baking pan sizes (you may need to slightly adjust baking time):

One 10-inch (25 cm) square pan (the cake will be a bit taller and may need a few more minutes in the oven).
Two 8 or 9-inch (20 - 23 cm) round pans. If you halve the recipe use one of those pans.

Note #2: Ground the mastic in a mortar with a tablespoon of the sugar until powder. *If you want the citrus flavor to shine, don't use mastic. Use only zest and vanilla.

Note #3: If you have medium eggs, 4 large eggs ≈ 5 medium.

About the syrup quantity: Ravani is meant to be sweet. But most recipes call for almost double the syrup, which (at least for me) makes it overly sweet and soggy. If you do prefer your Ravani drenched in syrup, feel free to add 1 more cup of water and 1 more cup of sugar to the syrup. That said, I’m confident that once you try the lighter way, you’ll never go back!

STORAGE:

Cover the Revani with plastic wrap or transfer to an airtight container and store for 3-4 days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to one week.

More Greek Desserts:

Nutrition