Revani cake is a classic delightful semolina cake found in the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern region. Revani / Ravani and sometimes called Rawani is a delightful cake soaked in light simple syrup which can be infused however you want.
Although Revani is a semolina cake it is not to be confused with basbousa. Revani has eggs and flour and those two do not exist in classic basbousa recipe. Almost every pastry shop in Egypt makes this delicious cake. Revani cake is widely available in Greek, Turkey, Egypt, and many other countries in the region.
Revani ingredients:
- Flour: we will need all purpose flour.
- Semolina: fine semolina, some people like using farina instead. check out the basbousa recipe for the difference between farina and semolina.
- Eggs.
- Sugar : not much just half a cup as we will have sugar in the syrup as well.
- Baking powder as the leavening agent.
- Salt, use any salt you have.
- Vanilla extract.
- Butter, we will melt the butter and you can use oil if you would like to.
How to make Revani cake
- In the bowl of your mixer, add eggs and sugar then beat well until the mixture gets pale and fluffy.
- Pour in melted butter and vanilla extract then beat again to mix.
- In a separate bowl, add flour, semolina, baking powder and salt then mix well.
- Gently incorporate the dry ingredient using a spatula in three batches. Pour cake batter into a prepared 9 inch pan and bake for 25-30 minutes.
- Take the cake out, poke several times using a toothpick. Pour the cooled syrup over while it is still hot. Let the cake rest for a couple of hours.
- Invert the cake over your serving platter and decorate top with coconut flakes.
Tips:
- Syrup needs to me made ahead of time so it will cool completely. If you forgot then simply place the saucepan of hot syrup in a larger bowl filled with iced water. This should cool the syrup quickly.
- Do not simmer the syrup too long as we do not want it to thicken.
- It is more common in Egypt to flavor Revani with only vanilla. You can add a teaspoon of almond extract, use lemon zest or orange zest to flavor the cake more.
- Some people like using farina instead. check out the basbousa recipe for the difference between farina and semolina.
If you like this recipe do not forget to give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ star rating and attach a photo of your finished dish. It is always a pleasure of mine to see your photos and check your own take of the recipe. Thank you.
Revani cake
A classic Mediterranean semolina cake drenched in lemon infused simple syrup and topped with coconut flakes. A light and easy everyday cake.
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 16
Calories: 171.4kcal
Ingredients
For the syrup:
- 1 cup granulated sugar.
- 1 1/2 cup water.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
- Juice of one lime.
- 1/2 cup honey.
For the cake:
- 4 large eggs at room temperature.
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (55g) butter, melted.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract . Note1
- ¾ cup (125g) fine semolina flour. Note2
- 3/4 cup (100g) all-purpose flour.
- 1 teaspoon baking powder.
- ¼ teaspoon salt.
For garnish:
- 1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut.
- 1/2 cup ground pistachios.
Instructions
Make the syrup:
- In a medium saucepan, combine the syrup ingredients, bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Set aside to cool completely.
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
- In the bowl of your standing mixer, add eggs, sugar and whip on high until it triples in volume and gets pale yellow and fluffy. 4-5 minutes.
- Add butter, vanilla extract and mix.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, semolina, baking powder and salt.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients working in batches.
- Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Poke the cake several times using the toothpick then pour the cooled syrup over.
- Allow the cake to cool down and rest for 1-2 hours before inverting on a serving platter. Decorate with coconut flakes and pistachios if desired.
Notes
Note1: You can also add a teaspoon of almond extract, use lemon zest or orange zest to flavor the cake more.
Note2: Some people like using farina instead. check out the basbousa recipe for the difference between farina and semolina.
Please check the nutrition disclaimer policy.
Vitamins are in percentage value. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Nutrition
Calories: 171.4kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 3.2g | Fat: 4.2g | Saturated Fat: 2.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.3g | Cholesterol: 54.3mg | Sodium: 53.3mg | Potassium: 42.4mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 3.7IU | Calcium: 2.4mg | Iron: 4.3mg
Tried this Recipe? Pin it for Later!Mention @AmirasPantry or tag #AmirasPantry!
Sign up and learn more about Mediterranean flavors
This recipe originally published May 2013. Updated on July 2020.
Do we mix the dry ingredients to the wet ones with spatula or continue with the mixer. ? Thank you.
Terry, gently incorporate the dry ingredient using a spatula in three batches. Hope this helps
I made this recipe last night for some friends. I substituted the semolina with almond flour, only poured half the quantity of the simple syrup over the cake (I don’t like things too sweet), added almond extract to the cake along with the vanilla, and fir cake topping used unsweetened coconut flakes and almond slivers. The cake delicious and everyone loved it! It was a true hit if the dinner party! I will be making this again. Thank you!
Such a delicious version Lauren, I am definitely going to try it. Tanks for sharing.
I made this recipe following it closely. Served it the same day and it was well received. Texture was lovely, flavors very nice...a good cake. I froze the remainder. Several weeks later I took it out of the freezer in the morning and defrosted a quarter of the cake, wrapped on the counter top. Served it after dinner and it was AMAZING! The cake was tender, the honey was sweet but not too sweet balanced beautifully with the tartness of the lemon. The pistachio nuts finely chopped along with toasted sweetened coconut added additional dimension. Heaven! Thank you! Lesson learned: Make ahead of time and let it marry!
Oh this is such a great discovery Elaine, thank you so much for sharing it with us. Glad you liked it.
Can you make this cake the day before
Revani cakes stay well in the refrigerator so I guess yes and make sure to cover it.
Was so excited to make this..wouldn’t come out if my baking dish and it tore up...
Shall we add the zest of one or two lemons, how many tbl spoon or tspoon. Thank you.. .