Pomegranate Semolina Cake.....I Smell Molasses!

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Now playing: Chris de Burgh - Lebanese Night
via FoxyTunes

I recently made some pomegranate molasses for a delicious chicken dish in Fine Cooking Magazine. Try that too it was good!

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/chicken-paillards-avocado-pomegranate-salsa.aspx

Back to dessert!

The magazine suggested buying the molasses, I made mine:

Pomegranate Molasses Recipe

3 cups pomegranate juice
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp. lemon juice

In a large uncovered saucepan reduce pomegranate juice, sugar, and lemon juice on medium heat for about 45 minutes. It should have a brownish colour and a syrupy consistency. Let cool. Store in a refrigerator.

As you can see from the recipe, it isn't really molasses, but a tart syrup. I sweetened up my "molasses" with some maple syrup for the dessert.

While researching, it turns out that this "molasses" originates from Lebanon. This lead to a decision to make a Lebanese style semolina cake with the "molasses" covering and soaking into it.



Sfouf- Lebanese Semolina Cake

3 cups Semolina
2 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup tahini
1 tbsp. baking powder
tbsp. turmeric
1 cup lemon curd (de ja vue?)

Combine the semolina, flour, turmeric and baking powder. Dissolve the sugar in the milk. Add the milk and sugar, along with the vegetable oil, and lemon curd to the dry ingredients. Spread the tahini over the bottom and sides of a 9" x 13" cake pan.
Pour the batter slowly into the pan. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top. Place into a pre-heated 350° F oven and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool. Cut into squares, pour syrup over the top and serve. If you have some pomegranate kernals garnish with those, by all means!
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Here is my finished loom project, with the wool I bought at the cute shop in Much Wenlock. The final hank I needed finally arrived from the UK.





More wool from Much Wenlock, this is the current knitting project.