Şamali (shah-mah-lee) is a Cypriot syrup-soaked, semolina-based cake. It is similar to other semolina-based desserts that are popular in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean countries, such as Revani which usually contains flour, and Basbousa which often contains desiccated coconut.
The cake has a delicate grainy and crumbly texture created by the semolina which soaks up the syrup like a sponge. The natural yoghurt in the cake provides a gentle creamy undertone that complements the wonderfully fragrant rose and spice syrup. Topping with finely chopped pistachios is optional but adds colour to decorate, as well as complementing the almond flavours.
Cypriot Şamali traditionally includes ground mastic gum for a fresh pine-like flavour, but its addition is optional and this recipe works easily without it (a quantity is provided in the ingredients section below as a guide). Also, some recipes use fine or coarse semolina, but you would need to adjust the syrup quantity and cooking times if you use either. This recipe uses a regular (medium) variety of semolina.
You would need to let the syrup cool completely to room temperature before ladling over the hot cake, so allow yourself enough time to prepare things accordingly. A suggestion would be to make the syrup in the morning and the cake in the evening, leaving it covered overnight to absorb the syrup completely.
Finally, this recipe uses natural yoghurt rather than strained yoghurt. This has more water content in it and a slight tangy flavour. If you use strained yoghurt, you may need to add water to the batter to compensate.
Makes 25 pieces | Preparation time: 10 minutes | Cooking time: 45 minutes for the syrup | Baking time: 50 minutes | Additional time to cool the syrup to room temperature
Ingredients
For the syrup | |
800g white sugar | 2x 5cm strips of a cinnamon quill (break up the quill to get the individual strips) |
1250ml water | 1 tbsp lemon juice |
8 cloves | 2 tbsp rose water |
For the cake | |
4 large eggs | Finely grated zest of half a lemon |
200g white sugar | 1 tsp vanilla extract |
250g natural yoghurt | ¼ tsp ground mastic gum (optional) |
125ml sunflower oil | ¼ tsp ground cinnamon |
1 tbsp baking powder | 500g regular (medium) semolina |
2 tbsp rose water | Butter, for greasing the cake tin |
25 whole blanched almonds | |
For serving | |
50g pistachio, very finely chopped | |
Hob heat settings
Method
For the syrup
Mix the sugar, water, cinnamon pieces and cloves in a saucepan until the sugar fully dissolves and place on a high heat. Boil while loosely covered until there is a rolling simmer - about 15-20 minutes.
Stir in the lemon juice and continue to simmer while loosely covered for 25-30 minutes more, or until the syrup thickens slightly and goes light brown in colour.
Allow the syrup to cool completely to room temperature before adding the rose water and mix well.
For the cake
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas Mark 4 and grease a D5xW25xL35cm cake tin with butter.
First, whisk the eggs with the sugar until fully dissolved and pale in colour.
Whisk in the lemon zest, baking powder, ground cinnamon, rose water, vanilla extract, sunflower oil and natural yoghurt until evenly distributed - you can add crushed mastic gum at this stage if you are using it. Finally, add the semolina and whisk well to make a smooth batter.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin and spread out to evenly cover. Add the blanched almonds so that you have 5 evenly spaced across the width of the pan and 5 across its length (the cake will be cut into 25 5x7cm pieces).
Bake for 50 minutes, or until golden brown all over and a cake skewer comes out clean.
Adding the syrup and serving
Ladle the room temperature syrup over the hot cake to evenly cover (the syrup will sit above the cake initially - see picture below). Loosely cover the cake tin with a tea tray and a large tea towel, before leaving the cake to cool and absorb the syrup for a few hours (preferably overnight). The syrup should be completely absorbed with only a little remaining at the bottom.
Once the cake has absorbed the syrup, cut it into 25 portions with a cake knife and gently lift these out with a slotted egg turner (see picture below). You can also trim off all the edges of the cake so that each piece looks uniform. Serve the cake chilled and topped with finely chopped pistachios to decorate each slice.
