• Line one 25x25cm square baking tray with 3 baking sheets. Preheat oven to 150C (Conventional Oven)

  Make sure to use a tray size similar to the above dimensions, because the height of the cake is very important to get the correct texture.( This recipe will fit in one square tray size of 25cmx25cm)

Step 1 (Semolina & butter mixture)

• Add semolina to a pan and roast it on a low heat for about 5-6 minutes until it is lightly roasted and has a slight brown colour like sand, take it off the heat and let it cool down
• Place the roasted semolina in a bowl add butter & rose essence and mix well with a wooden spoon until well incorporated. leave aside

Step 2 (Egg yolk and sugar mix)

• In a mixing bowl with the whisk attachment add the egg yolks, sugar and mix well until fluffy and creamy, you will see the mixture is lightly pale colour and has doubled in size. finally, add the lime rind, mix well in a low speed and leave aside.
• From this point, everything needs to be folded by hand, Add in the semolina and butter mixture into the egg mixture ( Step 1 +Step 2) and mix well with a wooden spoon.
• Add mixed spice (Allspice), bees honey, brandy, pumpkin preserve, cashew nuts, vanilla essence and almond essence, milk and mix well, until well mixed
• Beaten egg white is optional (6 egg whites) some people may be used to the cakey texture of the love cake, if you prefer to do it that way, you can add the egg whites at last but I actually like the chunky and gooey texture, but it is chunky and is not compact therefore a little difficult to cut. depending on your preference, you can add egg white or omit it.

Baking the cake ( A crucial part of the recipe)

• Pour the mixture into the prepared lined baking trays and bake for 1- 1 and a half hours until the cake is cooked. If the cake becomes brown halfway through place a foil paper on the top to stop it from browning and bake the required amount of time.

  * Do not over bake the cake, then it becomes dry, check the cake every 10 minutes when 1 hour is passed. It is ok to slightly under bake the cake and off the oven and leave it inside the oven, it will bake a little bit more for the heat in the oven and cool down over night.

  My cake, I covered it after 1 hour with a foil, then I bake for another 20 mins ( 1 hour 20 mins in total) leave it overnight to cool down inside the oven. Every oven is different, so make sure to check the cake often.

  Slightly under baking will ensure the gooey and moist centre.
• Once cooked, take it out of the oven let it cool inside the tray before cutting into desired pieces. The cake tastes better after 2 days of baking.