Ravani Veroias (Ραβανί Βέροιας)

Ravani Veroias is Veria's syrup cake, a Macedonian square of coarse semolina baked until gold and soaked while the sponge is still hot. It isn't the coconut revani some tables know, and it isn't a plain flour cake with syrup poured over it. The region is the dish's surname here: Veria wants a grainy crumb that drinks citrus syrup and still holds its shape under the knife.

The deciding method is timing. Boil the syrup first and let it cool, then pour it slowly over the cake the moment it comes from the oven. Hot crumb opens and takes the syrup down into itself; coarse semolina leaves small channels, so the cake becomes moist through the middle instead of wet only on top. Use fine semolina and you'll get a paste. Use flour alone and you'll get a sweet sponge pretending to be ravani.

I cut it after it rests, never while it's still thirsty. The knife should pass through a tender, sandy crumb, the top should shine a little, and each square should feel heavy for its size. In the Veria notes in my notebook, the arguments were never about decoration. They were about semolina, syrup, and whether the cake had been given time. Good semolina, and patience.