This quick & easy orange semolina cake recipe is oven-ready in just 15 minutes and it produces an impressive bake. The cake is full of flavour, deliciously moist and it comes topped with zesty orange and mint drizzle. This is the easiest flourless orange cake recipe you could wish for.
This recipe was first published in May 2020 and updated with step-by-step instructions, tips and frequently asked questions in June 2021.
I'm going to be honest, when I first made this orange semolina cake recipe, I wasn't sure it had worked. That's perhaps because I didn't know what to expect from a completely flourless cake.
Though initially stunned by its relatively flat and unassuming appearance, I was soon won over once I sliced into it. Slim, though it is, this flourless orange cake is bursting with flavour, texture and deliciousness.
And since this orange semolina cake is made without flour and uses just one egg, it's a great recipe to have to hand when a baking urge hits but the pantry baking shelf is looking somewhat depleted.
Why This Cake is Worth Making
This orange semolina cake is of very humble origin. Ingredients are simple and, if I dare admit it, rather unglamorous. But they are also likely to be knocking around a reasonably well-stocked kitchen and they do combine to create a fantastic cake that is:
- delicately sweet
- moist
- with a tender crumb
- bursting with citrus flavour
- naturally colourful
- slightly chewy (that's the semolina effect)
- and slightly crunchy (that's the drizzle topping)
Aside from all of these tempting features, this bake is equally delicious served just as it is alongside a cup of tea or turned into a swoon-worthy dessert when topped with chantilly cream. The latter option is my preference, especially when orange zest has been folded into the cream.
If you are into drizzle cakes take a look at my lemon drizzle bundt cake recipe too.
What is Semolina?
This is a completely flourless orange cake recipe. In place of the flour, I've used a mixture of semolina and ground almonds.
Semolina is ground durum wheat. It is coarser than flour and typically looks golden yellow. It is available in both fine and coarse grind and can usually be found in the baking aisle of supermarkets.
The most common uses for semolina is in the making of pasta and couscous since it is very high in gluten and keeps its shape extremely well during cooking. But semolina can be used to bake cakes and breads too with great success - this orange semolina cake is a prime example.
Ingredients for Flourless Orange Cake
For this semolina cake recipe ensure that you select coarse ground durum wheat semolina.
Just occasionally, you might stumble across rice semolina or corn semolina. These are not truly semolina, and should be not be used for this recipe. They have been given the semolina name tag since they are coarse-grained like semolina but cannot be relied upon to act the same way as the real thing during baking.
I've added a boost to the orange drizzle by including a little lemon juice, but it can be made entirely with orange if preferred. It can also be adapted to become a lemon cake by substituting all of the orange juice and zest in the recipe for lemon instead.
Since I have herbs growing in my garden, I included a gentle hint of mint in the drizzle topping. Feel free to replace with rosemary or thyme, or leave out the herb altogether.
Step by Step Instructions
This flourless orange cake might just be the easiest bake I've ever created. It can be in the oven in less than 15 minutes and requires just a couple of bowls and a balloon whisk for mixing:
1. Put the dry ingredients into a medium bowl and stir with a balloon whisk
2. In a small bowl mix together the yoghurt, egg and milk
3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients & mix until smooth
4. Whisk in orange juice & zest
5. Next whisk in the melted butter until well combined
6. Pour into a prepared tin & bake in a preheated oven for 45-50 minutes until the top is dark golden in colour
7. As the cake approaches the end of its cooking time, mix the orange and lemon juice together and blitz the mint leaves in, using a stick blender, until they are finely broken down. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, add the sugar to the juice, stirring only briefly
8. Poke holes all over the cake using a cocktail stick and spoon the drizzle topping evenly over the cake and leave to cool completely in the baking tin
Expert Tips
- Use digital scales for this recipe as they are so much more accurate than the cup system. Cups are notoriously inaccurate because they can vary in size and one person's method of filling a cup can be quite different to another person's
- The drizzle topping must be poured over the cake as soon as possible once it comes out of the oven, so that it is absorbed well by the cake. Make sure you prepare the citrus juice and mint so that all you have to do once the cake comes out of the oven is stir in the sugar, poke holes in the cake and pour the drizzle over
- When making the drizzle don't be tempted to swap granulated sugar for caster sugar. The coarser texture of granulated sugar is what helps give the drizzle that lovely crunch that we all appreciate
- Likewise, resist the urge to stir the drizzle topping too much as this will encourage the sugar to dissolve, which is not what we want to do
- Let the cake cool completely before slicing
- Try serving this flourless orange cake with a spoonful of Greek yoghurt for a tangy alternative to the chantilly cream already suggested
Frequently Asked Questions
I don't recommend it for this recipe. Although there are cakes out there that do use fine ground semolina, part of the beauty of this orange semolina cake is the unique texture caused by the use of coarse ground semolina. It's not like a regular sponge cake. Instead, it has real bite and a great chewiness about it.
Semolina does contain gluten, so although this cake contains no flour it is not gluten-free. If you are looking for a similar gluten-free cake try this one.
If stored in an airtight container at room temperature, this cake should stay fresh for 3 days. After this time it will begin to dry out - perhaps serve it with runny cream at this stage.
More Recipes Featuring Orange
Makes 4 circular waffles of approx 6.5" diameter
If you have tried this flourless orange cake recipe please give it a rating below. Don’t forget to share your creations with me on Instagram too - I love to hear how you've got along. Use #littlesugarsnaps and tag me @jane_littlesugarsnaps.
Orange Semolina Cake with Orange & Mint Drizzle
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 100 g Semolina coarse (do not use fine ground)
- 100 g Caster sugar
- 50 g Ground almonds (almond meal)
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of Soda (baking soda)
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 1 Egg large, free-range
- 120 g Greek yoghurt
- 90 ml Milk Whole (full fat)
- 2 tbsp Orange zest see notes
- 1 tbsp Orange juice see notes
- 110 g Butter Melted
Orange Drizzle Topping Ingredients
- 45 ml Orange juice
- 15 ml Lemon juice
- 8 Mint leaves
- 100 g Granulated sugar (do not use caster sugar)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180C/ 350F/ Gm 4 and grease and line an 8 inch springform cake tin
- Put the dry ingredients (semolina, sugar, almond, salt, baking powder and baking soda into a medium bowl. Stir with a balloon whisk
- In a small bowl mix together the yoghurt, egg and milk, then pour into the dry ingredients
- Mix until smooth, using the balloon whisk
- Next, whisk in the orange juice & zest
- Finally, add the melted butter and mix again
- Pour into the prepared tin & bake for 45-50 minutes until the top is dark golden in colour and a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean
- When the cake is almost cooked, start preparing the drizzle topping by mixing the orange and lemon juice together and blitzing the mint leaves in, using a stick blender until they are finely broken down
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, add the sugar to the juice, stiring only briefly
- Poke holes all over the cake using a cocktail stick and spoon the drizzle topping evenly over the cake
- Leave the cake to cool completely in the baking tin, then carefully release the cake tin and remove the baking parchment
- Store for up to 3 days, well wrapped, at room temeperature
Notes
- Use digital scales for this recipe as they are so much more accurate than the cup system. Cups are notoriously inaccurate because they can vary in size and one person's method of filling a cup can be quite different to another person's
- Semolina does contain gluten, so although this cake contains no flour it is not gluten-free
- You should be able to get the required amount of zest and juice from 1 large orange or 2 smaller ones
- I don't recommend the use of finely ground semolina in this recipe. Although there are cakes out there that do use fine ground semolina, part of the beauty of this orange semolina cake is the unique texture caused by the use of coarse ground semolina. It's not like a regular sponge cake. Instead, it has real bite and a great chewiness about it
- The drizzle topping must be poured over the cake as soon as possible once it comes out of the oven so that it is absorbed well by the cake. Make sure you prepare the citrus juice and mint so that all you have to do once the cake comes out of the oven is stir in the sugar, poke holes in the cake and pour the syrup over
- When making the topping don't be tempted to swap granulated sugar for caster sugar. The coarser texture of granulated sugar is what helps give the drizzle that lovely crunch that we all appreciate
- Likewise, resist the urge to stir the drizzle topping too much as this will dissolve the sugar
- Let the cake cool completely before slicing
- If stored in an airtight container at room temperature, this cake should stay fresh for 3 days. After this time it will begin to dry out - perhaps serve it with runny cream at this stage
Betty
Made this on the weekend for a treat and it was so yummy! The texture was amazing and the glaze is so good! Will make again.
Jane Saunders
You're so right - the texture is a delight in this cake - kind of soft but with a little bite to it. Thanks for letting me know how you got along.