Lemon Olive Oil Cake (Zeytinyağlı Revani)

Written by: Cooks of Heraclea

Time: 2 hours

Ingredients: 14

Lemon olive oil cake, Turkish zeytinyagli revani semolina cake soaked in lemon syrup, served with labne whipped cream

Revani is the cake we reach for when the syrup pot is already on the stove. Semolina gives it bite, yogurt keeps it tender, and olive oil does the work butter usually does — half Everyday EVOO, half our Lemon Infused Olive Oil, so the lemon runs all the way through the crumb. Bake it golden, slice it hot, and pour the cooled syrup over. Wait an hour and let it drink. Serve it with a dollop of labne whipped cream. Dessert tonight, breakfast tomorrow — we won't tell.

Ingredients:

For the syrup:

300 g (1½ cups) sugar
350 g (1½ cups) water
1 Tbsp (about 15 ml) lemon juice

For the cake:

160 g (1 cup) semolina
65 g (½ cup) all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 medium eggs
100 g (½ cup) sugar
230 g (1 cup) yogurt
180 ml (¾ cup) olive oil — 90 ml Heraclea Everyday EVOO + 90 ml Heraclea Lemon Infused Olive Oil

For the labne whipped cream:

240 ml (1 cup) heavy whipping cream
60 g (¼ cup) labne
40 g (⅓ cup) powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Steps:

For the syrup:

Put the sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until it thickens slightly, about 20 minutes.
Once it gets a little thicker, add the lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes more. Let it cool — pour it into a large shallow bowl so it cools faster.

For the labne whipped cream:

In a bowl, combine the heavy cream, labne, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until stiff peaks form, about 5–7 minutes by hand. Refrigerate until ready to use.

For the cake:

Butter a 25 cm (10-inch) round baking pan that is 4.5 cm (1.75 inches) deep and set it aside.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
In a medium bowl, combine the semolina, flour, and baking powder.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs and sugar until creamy and fluffy. Add the yogurt and both olive oils; mix well.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet mixture and whisk by hand until everything is combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until golden, about 30 minutes. When a toothpick comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven.
Slice the cake while it is still hot.

For the assembly:

Pour the cooled syrup over the warm cake. Let it absorb the syrup and cool completely before serving, about one hour.
Once cooled, serve the sliced cake with a dollop of labne whipped cream on top.