Basbousa (semolina cake) with orange blossom syrup

I'm not a big baker of cakes, in fact I rarely attempt to bake anything, preferring instead to make savoury foods. Well, with the exception of Middle Eastern sweets. Basbousa (also known as hareesa, revani or ravani) lies somewhere in between a sweet and a cake. It's found thoughout North Africa and the Middle East, and also in Greece and Turkey, though its actual origins are probably Egyptian. 
There are numerous recipies out there for basbousa, some using self raising flour in addition to semolina, some using eggs, some yoghurt, and some milk. I've gone for the yoghurt version as I think the tanginess of the yoghurt contrasts beautifully with the sweetness of the syrup. And about the syrup, some versions have a rose water syrup whereas others call for a plain simple syrup. 
Don't worry about being too precise with the ingredients, like just about everything I make it doesn't call for exact measurements. Same with the cooking time, depending on the size of dish, efficiency of the oven and the phase of the moon it could take anything from 30 minutes to an hour :)

Ingredients
350g semolina
50g dessicated coconut
100g caster sugar
Vanilla extract (optional)
150g margarine (melted)
200g Greek yoghurt
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 pinch of salt
Blanched almonds (to decorate)
For the syrup
250ml water
225g sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange blossom water

1. Mix the semolina, baking powder, coconut, sugar and salt in a bowl
2. Stir in the melted butter, the mixture should look like damp sand
3. Add the yoghurt and vanilla extract (if using) and mix well. You should end up with a thick batter-like dough
4. Grease a baking dish (~ 27cm/10 inch) and spoon in the mixture. Smooth down and leave for around 20 minutes (Use this time to make the syrup and let the oven heat up...)
5. To make the syrup add the water and sugar to a pan and bring to the boil and then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice (this will stop the syrup crystalising when it cools) and then add the orange blossom water. Leave to one side
6. Score the top of the cake mixture into lozenge shapes, and then put into a preheated oven (175C) for 20 minutes

 7. It's not ready yet, you just want to reinforce the scoring, and if you're using almonds to decorate press them into the centre of each lozenge at this point (if you do it right at the start they tend to burn)
8. Put the cake back in the oven and cook for another 20-40 minutes. You want the top to be golden brown, as the cake is so moist cooking it for longer wont dry it out. Just keep checking on it!

9. Once the cake is cooked, take it out of the oven and pour on the sugar syrup. You may not need all the syrup (in fact you probably wont! Keep some aside to drizzle on the leftover yoghurt and top with dessicated coconut and chopped pistachios... delicious). Once it's drunk enough of the syrup it's ready to eat. Basbousa can either be eaten warm or cold.