An Ottoman-era semolina cake whose name is linked to Revan (Yerevan); widely made across Turkey and the eastern Mediterranean (Unicorns in the Kitchen, Ozlem's Turkish Table).
Tender and a little grainy from the semolina, the cake is drenched so each bite is moist and glistening with lemon syrup. It is sweet but bright, melting on the tongue rather than sitting heavy.
Semolina's coarse grains absorb a great deal of syrup without turning to mush, giving the cake its signature moist crumb. Pouring cool syrup over a hot cake creates a temperature gap that draws liquid deep into the porous sponge.
Variations
With coconut (Hindistan cevizli); orange-blossom syrup; topped with crushed pistachio; a clotted-cream-served version.
On the Palate
Where Revani sits in the Turkish flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 9
How it's made
8 steps · 20 min
- 15 min
Whisk eggs with sugar until pale and fluffy.
Watch outWhisk the eggs until pale and tripled in volume — that trapped air is the only lift this cake gets, so don't stop early.
- 24 min
Fold in semolina, a little flour, yogurt and baking powder.
- 33 min
Pour the batter into a greased baking dish and smooth the top.
- 425 min
Bake until risen and golden on top.
Watch outBake until the top springs back and turns golden — an underbaked crumb goes gummy once the syrup soaks in.
- 58 min
Meanwhile boil sugar and water with a strip of lemon into a light syrup.
- 63 min
Cut the warm cake into diamond shapes in the pan.
- 73 min
Pour the syrup evenly over the hot cake and let it soak in fully.
Watch outPour cool syrup over the hot cake and listen for the sizzle — that temperature gap is what pulls the syrup deep into the crumb.
- 830 min
Rest until cool, then serve with a dusting of coconut if you like.
