Ravani: Greek Semolina Cake with Syrup

[Updated 26/02/2025]

Ravani is a moist, fragrant Greek cake made with semolina and soaked in a sweet syrup. It’s a classic dessert that’s perfect for any occasion. With a hint of lemon and a delicate texture, this cake is a beloved treat in Greek households (in ours too!).

An amazing variation is the coconut ravani.

Ingredients

·       1 cup semolina (fine or medium)

·       1 cup flour for cakes

·       1 tsp baking powder

·       1 cup sugar

·       6 large eggs

·       3 tbsp milk

·       1 tsp vanilla extract

·       A pinch of salt

For the Syrup:

·       2 ½ cups sugar

·       2 ½ cups water

·       1 tbsp lemon juice

·       5 tbsp butter

·       A few slices of lemon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). Grease a baking pan and set aside.
2. Whisk the eggs and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Add milk, and vanilla extract. Mix until well combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine semolina, cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until smooth.
5. Pour into a greased pan and bake for 30 minutes or until golden.
6. While the cake is baking, prepare the syrup by combining sugar, water, and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add butter and stir until melted and well combined. Let it cool.
7. Once the cake is done, remove it from the oven and immediately pour the hot syrup over it. Let the cake absorb the syrup and cool.

Serving Tips & Variations

Top with almonds or shredded coconut. Serve with Greek coffee. Store in the fridge and serve cold for a refreshing treat. Its vibrant orange color makes it a great Halloween cake if decorated creatively!

(Old version follows...)

Stir eggs and sugar with a mixer for several minutes (quite long, it might take 10 minutes!) until the mixture becomes quite thick (That's the big secret of success for this cake). At the end, add little by little the milk.

Mix with a spoon the rest of the ingredients for the cake and then, pour this mixture to the mixer slowly and stir for a minute at the lower speed.





Pour the result to a buttered baking dish (20cmx30cm) and put it to the oven at 175 degrees (Celsius) with air for about 30min. When done, take it out and leave it to rest for a while.

In the meantime, put in a small casserole the water, sugar and lemon zest for syrup and leave it to boil for 5min. When done, add the rest of the ingredients.

Cut the cake in pieces (square or diamond shape) and pour slowly the syrup. Leave it until all of the syrup is absorbed. The result should look like below... enjoy!   

Ravani is on the right of the above photo and despite it doesn't have a look that "rocks" :) trust me... taste "rocks" for sure!