This treat is a holiday or wedding dessert, but delicious any time. It is a dense sponge cake soaked in syrup.

　　

Ingredients

Syrup:

3 cups sugar

　　4 cups water

　　2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (1/2 lemon)

　　

Cake:

9 eggs, separated

　　3/4 cup sugar

　　grated rind from 1 lemon

　　2 cups semolina or farina (cream of wheat)

　　1/3 cup flour

　　4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

　　1 cup heavy cream, whipped with 1 tablespoon sugar

　　1/4 cup ground nuts

　　

To make the syrup:

Step 1

Bring sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil, simmer 15 minutes. Cool.

　　

To make the cake:

Step 2

Beat the egg yolks, sugar and lemon rind with an electric beater for 5 minutes or until pale yellow. Wash and dry the beater.

　　

Step 3

Fold the semolina and flour into the beaten yolks until well blended. Set aside.

　　

Step 4

Beat the egg whites with the clean beater until stiff. Alternate gently folding the egg whites and the melted butter into the yolk and flour mix.

　　

Step 5

Pour batter into a well greased and floured 9x12 inch or 10x12 inch baking pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for 40 minutes, or until a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

　　

Step 6

Pour the syrup over the hot cake. Let it stand for several hours until the syrup is absorbed and the cake is cool.

　　

Step 7

Cut the cake into squares. Serve with whipped cream and sprinkle nuts on top.

　　From Turkish Cooking: A Culinary Journey through Turkey by Carol Robertson, published by Frog Books, an imprint of North Atlantic Books, copyright © 1996 by Carol Robertson. Reprinted by permission of publisher.