AI-generated image
Şambali
Semolina yoghurt cake in syrup
Şambali: İzmir's syrup-soaked semolina and yoghurt cake topped with almonds
Walk through İzmir's Kemeraltı bazaar and you'll see huge copper trays of şambali, cut into diamonds, each topped with a blanched almond and glistening with syrup. It is a dense, moist semolina cake made with yoghurt, sold by street vendors and old pastry shops, sometimes with a spoon of kaymak on top. Plainer than it looks and dangerously easy to eat. Chef's tip: rest the batter for a few hours, or overnight, so the semolina softens fully; otherwise the cake is gritty.
- Total time
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 12
Ingredients
For the cake
- 14 oz coarse semolina
- 14 oz plain yoghurt
- 5 ½ oz caster sugar
- 2 ⅞ oz buttermelted
- 2 tsp baking powder
For the syrup
- 16 oz granulated sugar
- 2 cups water
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Fresh ingredients (3)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/6 doneStep 1: Mix 14 oz coarse semolina, 14 oz plain yoghurt, 5 ½ oz caster sugar, 2 ⅞ oz butter and 2 tsp baking powder into a thick batter. Cover and rest for at least 3 hours, or overnight in the fridge.
180 minStep 2: Boil 16 oz granulated sugar and 2 cups water for 10 minutes, add 1 tbsp lemon juice, then leave to cool completely.
10 minStep 3: Heat the oven to 350°F (325°F fan). Butter a 25 × 30 cm tin and press the batter in evenly with wet hands.
Step 4: Score into 24 diamonds and press one of the 24 blanched almonds into the centre of each.
Step 5: Bake for 35–40 minutes, until deep golden and a skewer comes out clean.
40 minStep 6: Pour the cold syrup over the hot cake, a ladle at a time, until it's all absorbed. Common mistake: hot syrup on hot cake; it turns soggy and heavy. Leave for 2 hours before cutting.
120 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 370 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 70 g
- Fat
- 8 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does şambali take?
- About 55 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 12 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- Can I make it ahead?
- Yes. It keeps well, so you can cook it earlier in the day or the day before and reheat it.
- What can I use instead of plain yoghurt?
- Greek yoghurt loosened with a little milk.
- What can I use instead of caster sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
ŞalgamFermented purple carrot drink
Order an Adana kebab in its home city and a tall glass of şalgam arrives with it, deep purple, salty, sour and often fiery. It is made by fermenting black carrots with a little bulgur and salt for a week or more, and the sharpness clears the palate between bites of lamb and grilled onion. Street carts in Adana sell it by the glass in summer. This home version skips the separate bulgur-sour-dough stage the big producers use. Use non-iodised salt: iodised salt can stall the ferment. Chef's tip: taste from day 5; when it is sour enough to make you blink, strain and chill it, because it keeps fermenting at room temperature.
Reform tortaWalnut meringue chocolate cake
Belgrade pastry shops have sold reform torta since the early twentieth century, and it is still the cake Serbian families bring out for birthdays, weddings and the slava. Three thin layers of walnut meringue, crisp at the edge and chewy inside, are stacked with a dense chocolate butter cream made with egg yolks cooked over steam until thick. It is very rich, so cut thin slices and serve with strong coffee. The usual slip is beating the butter into a chocolate mixture that is still warm, which melts it and splits the cream; let it cool to room temperature first. Chef's tip: assemble the cake the day before; overnight in the fridge the meringue softens a little and the cake slices cleanly with a hot knife.
Ma'amoulDate and walnut butter pastries
Ma'amoul are delicate shortbread-like pastries made for Eid and Easter across the Middle East. A soft, rose-scented butter dough is wrapped around a filling of dates, walnuts, almonds and pistachios cooked with cinnamon, marked with a fork, baked pale and dusted with icing sugar. Makes 35; they keep well in a tin.