Semolina Orange Cupcakes

This is one of the most delicious citrus cupcakes ever and I promise you, you are going to love this. It is flavored with lemon zest or orange zest or whatever you like but you will also add syrup to it. The syrup is flavored with orange blossom water.

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 1 cup and 2 tablespoons (220 grams) of white granulated sugar
• The zest of 1 orange or lemon
• 2 teaspoons ground cardamom (optional)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 cup (250 ml) of vegetable oil
• 1 cup (250 ml) of milk
• 2 1/2 cup (400 grams) fine semolina
• 2 full tablespoons (20 grams) all-purpose white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Ingredients for the syrup

• 3/4 cup (200 ml) fresh orange juice
• 3/4 cup (200 ml) water
• 1 1/2 cup (200 grams) powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup (100 grams) honey
• 2 teaspoons orange blossom water

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, place the eggs, we need 4, a pinch of salt, and sugar. Using an electric egg beater, beat the ingredients on high speed for 5 minutes, until you get a thick whitish mixture.
2. Add orange or lemon zest and mix then add the ground cardamom, and beat for another 30 seconds. If you don’t have cardamom you can skip it or use vanilla instead. Mix until you get a very thick egg mixture.
3. In a separate large bowl, sift the flour. Add the semolina and baking powder. Mix well.
4. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients, and using a spatula, mix all these goodies together until well incorporated then add the vegetable oil and mix well until the oil is absorbed in the batter.
5. Finally, add the milk, and continue mixing until you get a very smooth batter, at this point, if you want, you can also add chopped nuts, dates or figs
6. Divide the batters equally among the cupcake cups about three-quarters way full then bake in a preheated oven at 360 F / 180 C for 45 minutes.

Making the Syrup;

1. In the meantime, let’s make the syrup. In a saucepan, combine the orange juice, water, powdered sugar, and honey.
2. Turn on the heat to medium-low and cook the syrup for around 5 minutes then turn off the heat and add the orange blossom water. Mix well.
3. Let the syrup reach room temperature before pouring it over the cupcakes, you can use a skewer or toothpick to poke holes in the muffin so that the syrup can sip through the cakes.
4. Let the muffins sit for about 30 minutes before serving them.