This cake is particularly easy to make as it involves no beating, only mixing. It is very dense and moist, but needs to stand for 24 hours to allow all the flavours to settle. Delicious served with whipped cream.

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 cup semolina
• 70 grams hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
• 150 grams butter, melted
• 1 cup non-fat plain yoghurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• grated rind of one orange
• 2 eggs

Syrup

• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups waer
• 2 tablespoons each Grand Marinier and Frangelico liqueur

Method

Cake

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a bowl and then mix in the sugar, semolina and quarter of the chopped toasted hazelnuts. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients.
2. Blend together the melted butter, yoghurt, vanilla essence, orange rind and eggs until smooth. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and blend gently together using a holed spoon. Do not overbeat as this will cause the cake to peak.
3. Pour the mixture over the back of the spoon into a well-greased, floured and lined 20cm cake tin. Sprinkle the remaining chopped hazelnuts over the top.
4. Bake at 180 degrees Celsius for 50-60 minutes until the skewer inserted comes out clean. While the cake is cooking, prepare the syrup.

Syrup

1. Put the sugar and water into a saucepan and stir over a moderate heat until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 2 minutes. Stir in the liqueurs.
2. When the cake is cooked, pierce it in two dozen or so places with a cake skewer. Pour the syrup evenly and slowly over the cake. If you have used a loose-bottomed cake tin, stand the cake in a deep dish in case any syrup spills out the join. Allow the cake to stand for 24 hours to absorb all the syrup. Serve in slices with whipped cream or yoghurt.