Halvas Fourno

Total Time: 1 hr 20 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 cups water
• 4 ounces butter, room temperature
• 3/4 cup caster sugar (or superfine sugar)
• 2 teaspoons lemon rind, finely grated
• 3 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups semolina
• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup blanched almond, toasted and finely chopped
• blanched almond, flaked (to decorate)

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 325. grease a 12 x 8 cake tin.
• 2 in a saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water over high heat. add the lemon juice and bring to a boil. reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes. remove from heat and leave to cool.
• 3 while the syrup is cooking, cream the butter, sugar and lemon rind with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• 4 sift together the semolina and flour and then fold into the butter mixture alternately with the milk. mix in the chopped almonds.
• 5 spread the mixture in the cake tin and arrange rows of flaked almonds on top.
• 6 bake for 35-40 minutes or until the cake is golden and shrinks slightly from the sides of the tin.
• 7 prick the surface with a fine skewer and then pour the cooled syrup over the hot cake.
• 8 when the cake is cool, cut into squares or diamonds.