Rawani — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A moist, fragrant semolina cake soaked in rose-scented sugar syrup and topped with almonds. This elegant Yemeni dessert balances the sweetness of syrup with the nutty warmth of semolina.

Ingredients

2 cups fine semolina
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter
3 eggs
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
Whole almonds for decoration
For syrup: 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp rose water

Instructions

1 Mix semolina, sugar, melted butter, eggs, yogurt, baking powder, and vanilla into a smooth batter. Rest for 15 minutes.
2 Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Score the top into diamond shapes and press an almond into each piece.
3 Bake at 180C (350F) for 30-35 minutes until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.
4 Meanwhile, make the syrup: boil sugar, water, and lemon juice for 8 minutes until slightly thickened. Add rose water off heat.
5 Pour cold syrup over the hot cake immediately after removing from the oven. Let it absorb for at least 30 minutes.
6 Cut along the scored lines and serve at room temperature. The cake should be moist and syrup-soaked throughout.

Did You Know?

The key to perfect rawani is temperature contrast — hot cake meets cold syrup, which helps the syrup absorb evenly without making the cake soggy.