Namoura with homemade tahini sauce – Pareve version

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Sugar Syrup

1. 1
   Bring the sugar and water to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer 10 minutes, until the sugar melts and the syrup thickens slightly.

   Stove

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
2. 2
   Add the lemon juice.

   💡The lemon keeps the sugar from crystallizing again.
3. 3
   Cool completely.

   💡Cold syrup on a hot pastry soaks in evenly.

To assemble

1. 4
   Mix the tahini and lemon juice and season with salt.
2. 5
   Gradually add cold water while stirring, until the sauce is smooth, pale and pourable.

   💡When you add the first water, the tahini thickens and looks like dough: that's fine. Keep adding water and stirring, and it loosens into a smooth sauce.
3. 6
   Preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).

   Oven

   💡Put things in the oven only once it's reached temperature, after the heating light has gone off: an oven that hasn't reached temperature changes baking times, and the bake burns outside or stays underbaked.
4. 7
   Mix the semolina, sugar, unsweetened soy yogurt, oil and baking powder into a smooth batter.
5. 8
   Let the batter rest for 20 minutes so the semolina absorbs the liquids.
6. 9
   Spread the tahini over the bottom and sides of the pan, pour in the batter and smooth the top.

   Baking pan
7. 10
   Score diamonds and place an almond in the center of each.

   Knife
8. 11
   Bake 25–30 minutes, until the cake is golden.

   OvenBaking pan

   💡Check by the cue (until…), not just the clock: every oven bakes a little differently.
9. 12
   Take out of the oven and immediately pour the syrup over the hot cake. Let soak at least 30 minutes.

   💡The syrup soaks into the cake only while it's hot: pour it as soon as it comes out of the oven, slowly and over the whole surface.