Revani with coconut (Ρεβανί (ή Ραβανί) με ινδοκάρυδο)

Greek Revani (or ravani) with coconut is a light syrup soaked semolina cake that you will love! This cake is light and fluffy. The gorgeous texture is in part due to the semolina and the Greek yogourt with the flavours of coconut and orange throughout the cake. This is one of my mom’s favourite desserts, and it is easy to know why!

I am like most Greeks in that I love syrupy desserts.  Greeks will take a perfectly delicious walnut cake, a delightful phyllo and custard dessert, or a simply yummy pear shaped cookie and make them better with syrup.  Sticky, and now even more delicious, syrup soaked cakes are a particular favourite around here (and by here I mean our family, not the internet…although, I’m working on it!). You can read all about this amazing group of Greek desserts in this post All about Siropiasta, or Greek desserts with syrup.

Key ingredients

For the cake

Eggs I use large eggs and I typically bring them to room temperature before using them in baking (although this is not absolutely necessary in this recipe).

Cream of tartar This is a dry, white, powdery ingredient that is a byproduct of fermenting grapes into wine. It is used to beat egg whites and to create soft or stiff peaks.

Sugar My ravani is sweetened with plain white granulated sugar. I love this ingredient in baking because it adds sweetness but not much flavour per se, so the other ingredients shine through.

Vegetable oil A light, mild flavoured oil which adds moisture to the cake.

Zest of clementine I love to use clementines in my ravani. They are sweeter than oranges typically, with a slightly different flavour.

Greek yogourt I use plain Greek yogourt because it is richer and thicker than regular yogourt, giving my dessert a richer result.

Fine Semolina Semolina is pale yellow in colour and is made from durum wheat. It has a high protein content and a gives a wonderful flavour, colour and texture to baked goods.

All purpose flour Also called plain or regular flour, this is the basic white flour you can find in almost all grocery stores.

Shredded coconut I use unsweetened coconut in this recipe and I try to find a brand which is finely shredded. If all you can find is regularly shredded coconut however, that is totally fine.

Baking powder and baking soda Both the baking powder and baking soda are used as leavening agents for the cake.

For the syrup

Water Basic tap water will work out well here.

Sugar Granulated white sugar offers sweetness and dissolves well in the water when heated.

Clementine juice Sweet, delicate and full of flavour. Freshly squeezed clementine is so delicious and adds great flavour to the syrup.

Maraschino cherry I like to decorate the top of each piece with half a maraschino cherry. I add them to the cake after it is baked, and after the syrup is poured. This, for me, is the classic way to serve ravani, simply because this is how it has been done in my family for as long as I can remember.

How to make it

Step 1 – Prepare the syrup
Prepare your syrup by combining the water, sugar and clementine juice in a small pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and stir well until the sugar has dissolved.  Set aside to cool completely.

Step 2
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 inch cake pan with either cooking spray or vegetable oil and a brush.

Step 3
In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, semolina, shredded coconut, baking soda and baking powder until well combined. Set aside.

Step 4
In another bowl combine the 4 egg whites with the cream of tartar and beat well until soft peaks form.  Set aside.

Step 5
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the 4 egg yolks with the sugar and beat until a pale yellow colour (3 to 4 minutes).  Next add the clementine zest and the vegetable oil and beat until well combined.  Add the yogourt and the contents of the bowl with the semolina and coconut. Beat using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer until well combined.

Step 6
Next, using a rubber spatula, gently fold in the egg whites.  Continue to fold in the whites until they are well combined within the rest of the batter.

Step 7
Pour the batter into your greased cake pan and bake in the center of the oven for 45 minutes, being careful not to open the oven door too much during the baking process.

Step 8
When your cake is ready (a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean), remove it from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Then, using a sharp knife, cut your cake into serving size pieces; it is traditional to cut your cake into diamonds as shown.

Step 9
Pour the cooled syrup slowly over your still warm cake.  All of the syrup should be absorbed by your cake.  Be sure to pour the syrup around the edges as well. If you would like, decorate each piece with a maraschino cherry.

About this recipe

Revani (or ravani) is a traditional syrup cake with variations galore! There are versions made in several countries like Turkey and Egypt, all going by different names. In Greek, this dessert is called revani (ρεβανί) or ravani (ραβανί).  Name aside, within Greek families like mine there are also differences in the recipe. Some bakers flavour their syrup with rose water, others with orange juice, some with lemon.  There are differences in the proportion of semolina to flour used, and there seems to be a heated debate over the inclusion of coconut, with some people arguing that coconuts do not grow in Greece, so using them in revani is wrong.  Well, it may be wrong, but frankly…it’s delicious.  Be a rebel, use the coconut!

Helpful hints

I like to use clementines to make my revani (ravani) with coconut. The zest for the cake batter and the juice in the syrup comes from clementines, which tend to be sweeter and juicier than oranges. Although you can use oranges instead, I really do recommend that you use clementines; the flavour is absolutely wonderful.

I used a reduced fat yogourt in this recipe for revani (ravani) with coconut, however you can use any yogourt you like, so long as it is plain and unflavoured.

I know how tempting it is to peak in on your revani (ravani) with coconut cake while it is baking, but try to avoid doing so, especially during the first 30 minutes of cooking time.  Opening the door to your oven and releasing the heat will potentially cause your cake to sink a bit (or a lot!) in the middle.  That would be a shame, especially since this cake is incredibly fluffy, unlike some of the denser versions of revani that you may come across.

You will notice that this recipe is similar to the one for pantespani. For both desserts, you need to prepare your syrup in advance so that cooled syrup is poured over the hot cake. You will beat your eggs separately in order to fold in egg whites which you have beaten to a soft peak, and you’ll even cut your cake in a similar fashion.  However, despite the fact that they end up looking similar, revani and pantespani are quite different in their flavour and texture.

Recipe substitutions

Instead of clementine zest and juice you can use orange zest and orange juice. You can even use lemon juice and lemon zest if that is what you have, or prefer.

You can use regular plain yogourt instead of plain Greek yogourt.

Instead of decorating your ravani with maraschino cherries you can decorated the top with some additional shredded coconut or even nuts.

How to serve

I like to adorn each piece of my cake with a maraschino cherry because that is what my family has always done.  In fact, when our koumbara makes revani during Christmas time she uses both red and green maraschino cherries to decorate her cake.  If you don’t like maraschino cherries, you can certainly use something else to make your revani pretty; shredded coconut is a lovely option.  You can also decide to keep your cake plain; with a flavour so delicious you really don’t need to dress it up.

What to do with leftover maraschino cherries

If you purchase a jar of maraschino cherries to decorate your cake and end up choosing not to, use your cherries to make this cake instead.

Related recipes

If you love the idea of ravani, then I think you will also love these classic Greek desserts as well.

Baklava A Greek classic! Learn how to make this phyllo and nut dessert, soaked in syrup.

Galaktoboureko (Γαλακτομπούρεκο) The best recipe for galaktoboureko. Honestly the custard filling is just perfect!

Pantespani I love this orange flavoured dessert. It has a great texture, and is soaked in syrup.

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Thanks for sharing!