Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Grease 9 x 13 pan all over on the inside and set aside or line with parchment paper if planning to lift it onto a platter for serving. Either is fine.

In a medium size bowl whisk together the flour, semolina and baking powder, and set aside

Using an electric mixer or standing mixer, in a large mixing bowl, cream the butter with sugar until light and fluffy, 3-5 mins.

With the mixer running, add egg yolks one by one mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until the batter turns light yellow in colour, 1-2 mins

Then mix in the vanilla extract, and lemon zest.

With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture in three batches alternating with the milk. Set aside batter.

In a seperate medium size bowl with clean beaters or whisk attachment on, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until soft peaks form.

Gently fold the egg whites into the cake batter with a spatula until just blended. Do not over mix or your egg whites will deflate.

Pour the batter into the pan, level with a flexible spatula so that it is even then place in preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes or until the cake is a nice and golden and tested comes out clean.

While the cake is baking add the water, sugar, and orange zest to a saucepan and bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the lemon juice and set aside to cool.

Immediately after you remove the cake from the oven slice it into diamond shaped pieces or into squares or rectangular pieces and immediately ladle the syrup gently onto the cake evenly. (alternatively pierce it gently all over with a knife edge or a fork or even a skewer then ladle over syrup to allow the cake to absorb the syrup fully.)

Sprinkle with toasted almond flakes and dried rose petals (or any other topping you chose to use) and allow to cool completely before serving.

Once cool serve pieces otherwise cover and keep at room temperature for 3-4 days or in the fridge for up to one week. Can be served room temperature or even cold. I like to cover and refrigerate mine for a few hours before serving to allow the syrup and flavours to fully penetrate but that is just personal preference.