The Turkish semolina cake soaked in lemon syrup and often finished with coconut or nuts is revani. It is a moist, grainy-textured syrup cake found throughout Turkey and in related forms across the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East.
Revani is made with semolina, which gives the cake a pleasantly coarse crumb, along with eggs, sugar, and usually flour or yogurt. After baking, the warm cake is soaked with a sweet syrup commonly flavored with lemon. Coconut, pistachios, or other nuts may be sprinkled over the top, depending on the regional recipe.
The name and history are linked to the Ottoman culinary world. One widely repeated story connects the dessert’s name with Revan, the historical name for Yerevan, after an Ottoman victory in the seventeenth century, though culinary histories and names vary. Revani is easily confused with şekerpare or tulumba: şekerpare is made as individual syrup-soaked cookies, while tulumba is piped dough that is fried before soaking.