Namoura

Ingredients

500g fine semolina

75g plain flour

80ml Hand of Fatima Olive Oil (plus for serving)
80ml sunflower oil

40g unsalted butter, melted 

3 tbsp full fat yoghurt 

1½ tsp fast acting yeast

¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

25g whole blanched almonds

2 tbsp tahini paste 

Syrup

400g caster sugar

135ml water

2 tbsp lemon juice

1½ tbsp rosewater

1½ tbsp orange blossom water

Method

Mix the semolina & flour in a big bowl. Add the oils, melted butter & yoghurt, mix well. Next, add the yeast, baking powder and salt, and then gradually add 180ml of the lukewarm water while mixing. Knead the dough on a work surface until it is smooth.

Grease a 24cm round cake tin with tahini & line it with baking paper so it comes ¾ up the sides of the tin. Pour the semolina mixture in & press it down with your hand so it’s levelled and smooth.

Use a small, sharp knife to score the surface of the cake with parallel lines 5 centimeters apart, followed by another set of lines at a 45 degree angle, creating a diamond pattern. Place an almond half at the centre of each diamond. Cover the cake tin with a clean tea towel and set it aside somewhere warm for about an hour. After about 40 minutes, set the oven to 180C to heat up.

Put the cake in one of the lower shelves in the hot oven & bake for 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to 160c and bake for a further 20 minutes or until it is golden & a skewer inserted comes out dry.

Prepare the syrup while the cake is in the oven. Add the water to the sugar in a small saucepan & mix it well with a wooden spoon. Heat up and once it boils, add the lemon juice and simmer gently for 4 minutes. Take the syrup off the heat, allow it to cool down just a little and then add the orange blossom and rose water.

Once the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and at once drizzle the warm syrup all over it, making sure to use up the whole quantity of syrup. Leave aside until the cake is completely cool. 

Serve with a spoonful of yoghurt with a drizzle of olive oil. 

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