Greek cuisine boasts many syrupy pastries. Samali is a semolina cake flavored with mastic (an aromatic spice similar to licorice) and topped with almonds. When warm, the cake is drenched in a rosewater and lemon syrup. Some recipes use vanilla or cinnamon syrup. Serve samali with vanilla ice cream or kaimaki (mastic-flavored ice cream). These kinds of traditional Greek recipes arrived in America through immigrants, who brought their favorite treats with them.
Recipe Servings: 20
Prep Time
45 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes
Total Time
1 hour 25 minutes
Vegetarian
Vegan
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Kosher
Halal
Ingredients
- ½ tsp ground mastic resin
- 1½ cups sugar
- 1½ cups Greek yogurt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 2½ cups coarse semolina
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Blanched almonds, for garnish (optional)
- For Syrup
- 2½ cups sugar
- 1½ cups water
- 1 lemon, halved
- ½ tsp rosewater or vanilla extract
- 3-4 Tbsp butter, melted
Directions
- Using a mortar and pestle or blender, grind mastic and a pinch of sugar. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine yogurt and baking soda. Mix well and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine semolina, sugar, ground mastic, and baking powder. Mix well with a spoon.
- Add yogurt mixture to semolina mixture. Whisk until smooth.
- Grease bottom and sides of a 15 x 11-inch baking pan. Pour mixture into pan. Smooth the surface with a spatula.
- Cover samali with a kitchen towel and allow to rest for about 3 hours.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Score cake with a knife into small pieces. Garnish with almonds, if desired.
- Bake cake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare syrup. In a small saucepan, combine sugar, water, lemon, and rosewater or vanilla. Bring to a boil.
- Boil syrup for 2–3 minutes until sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.
- Brush top of warm cake with melted butter.
- A little at a time, pour cold syrup on top. Allow syrup to be absorbed before adding more.
- Allow cake to cool completely before serving.
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