• Grease a 23cm (9 inch) round cake tin and line with baking paper (I just used a regular ceramic pie dish and lightly sprayed it with cooking oil – it was quite easy to cut each slice straight from the dish).
• Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F).

For the cake:

• In a large bowl, combine the semolina, coconut, caster sugar, flour and baking powder.
• In a separate bowl, combine the yoghurt, melted butter and vanilla extract.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well to combine (it will be very thick).
• Place the cake batter into the prepared tin. Use the back of a spoon (or the palm of your hand) to smooth out the top. Cover and rest for 20 minutes.
• Make deep cuts into the cake in the shape of diamonds. Press a blanched almond into the centre of each diamond. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.

For the Syrup:

• While the cake is cooking, place the white sugar and water in a saucepan over a low heat. Once the sugar has dissolved, add the rose water, orange blossom water and lemon juice. Increase the heat to medium and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until thickened and syrupy.
• Once the cake is cooked, remove from oven and immediately pour over the syrup (it will take a while for the liquid to sink in*).
• Let the cake completely cool in the tin before removing. Decorate with dried rose petals before serving.