Rich Sugee (Semolina) Cake

A sugee cake is really a butter cake but one ingredient that is different is the use of semolina flour. We have always associated this cake with Eurasian households and they would make this particular cake for Christmas or for wedding cakes as it is somewhat dense. It uses a lot of butter and eggs and therefore the rule of thumb is "have a small slice and don't over-indulge".

If you are unfamiliar with the word "sugee", there are alternatively spellings to this word which is ‘sugi’, ‘suji’, ‘sooji' or ‘soojee’. I further discovered that the word "suji" is actually Northern Indian and the origins of this recipe may have come from there.

This particular cake keeps very well in the freezer. You can also add in a bit of brandy for exra flavour but if you don't like the taste of liquor, you could add in a bit of orange zest instead.



Rich Sugee (Semolina) Cake
Recipe Adapted from Here

Ingredients:

220g unsalted butter, softened slightly at room temperature
100g caster sugar
3 Tbsp milk
100g semolina (sugee) flour
3 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks
110g caster sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
80g plain flour (all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder1
1/4 teaspoon salt
120g ground almonds
50g finely chopped almonds (almond nibs)

Method:

1) Cream butter and 100g sugar in a mixer for about one minute at medium
high speed. With the mixer still on, add milk gradually, followed by the
semolina flour. Mix till combined. Switch off the mixer and let the mixture
stand for an hour. This allows the semolina to absorb moisture.

2) Preheat oven to 180°C. Lightly grease a rectangular tin of 7" x 9" or an 8" round pan on the bottom and sides. Line the bottom of the tin with parchment paper.

3) Beat eggs and egg yolks in a mixer till frothy. Add 110g sugar gradually
and beat at medium high speed for a full five minutes till pale-coloured. After that add in the essence and beat to combinine.

4) Sift flour, baking powder and salt. Add ground and chopped almonds. Mix
well.

5) Add half the egg mixture to the butter mixture. Fold gently till almost
combined. Then add half the flour mixture to the butter mixture and fold.
Add remaining egg mixture and flour mixture alternately. Fold till all
ingredients are combined. Do not overmix.

6) Pour mixture into cake tin and smoothen the surface with a spatula.

7) Bake for 45 - 50 minutes. If the top of the cake starts to burn, remove the cake
from the oven after 25 - 30 minutes, cover the top of the cake with aluminium
foil, then bake for another 20 minutes. The cake is ready when an inserted
skewer or satay stick comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes
at room temperature before removing it from the tin. Run a knife round the
side of the cake and overturn it onto a wire rack to cool.



Notes:

• Milk adds richness and flavour to this cake. If not available, replace with
water but expect a slight loss in flavour.
• The extra egg yolks add moisture and richness to the cake.
• It is important to beat the eggs well. This incorporates air into the mixture,
which helps the cake rise during baking.
• It is not necessary to toast the almonds before use in this recipe.
• Chopped almonds add flavour and some crunch to this cake. Do not omit.
• Buy ready ground almonds and chopped almonds to save time and effort.
• Plain flour gives the cake structure and should not be entirely replaced
with semolina flour.
• When folding the flour and egg mixture into the butter mixture, do not
overmix as this will result in a heavy and dense cake.