Hello everyone, so I just made a cake using this recipe....http://www.saveur.com/semolina-coconut-cake-with-orange-and-rose-waters-recipe.....yet to taste it but it has not risen. I noticed afterwards from the picture that the cake doesn't have ever much height. Is it the semolina? I followed the recipe exact. Could I use self raising instead of semolina?  Or will it effect the cake? My daughters 1st birthday is next week and want it to be perfect :-) any advice please? Thank you xx

i mean a cup of oil and a can of sweetened condensed milk and the eggs -- that's a lot of liquid -- nominal/normal amount of leavening -- i mean if your cake looks like the picture that's how it will roll -- i mean white flour with additional leavening may or may not work -- probably will but you can get some of the most surprising results tweaking recipes --

come & post an update when you get it all sorted out -- best to you

oh but i forgot about the cup of coconut -- that kind of changes things -- but i still don't know how it will turn out for you -- my suggestion is to make only half -- or if you make the whole thing -- divide it up and test it in different ways -- like just add more baking powder to the existing recipe with the semolina then do the self raising flour -- i try to get as much testing in as possible for the amount of money i'm investing kwim

So, how did the first cake taste? Just wondering if it tasted good. The cake in the picture looks thin. Maybe that is the way this particular cake cooks. 

Let us know what happens when you sub the self rising flour. Good luck!!

The cake was delicious, I'm currently living in Cyprus and it's definitely the same beautiful flavour as the cakes made here, I should of researched semolina cakes before choosing this recipe, as it does seem like a cake that is not meant to rise, so I will try with flour and let you know how it gets on :) xx

why don't you adapt your flavors to a cake that already has a good rise like this one 

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/moist-yellow-cake-109358

use the flavored syrup from your recipe and sub in some coconut for a bit of the flour into your cake batter -- maybe remove a half cup of flour and add in the 3/4 cup coconut or whatever --

but going with a high rising recipe first then adding in your flavors makes more sense -- not sure if your area has these ingredients but find you a good recipe first is my thought for you --