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1
Melt the butter and allow it to cool until warm but not hot, so that it is absorbed by the semolina rather than sitting on the surface of each grain as liquid fat. Combine it with the fine semolina in a large mixing bowl, stirring until every grain is coated, then cover and set aside at room temperature for a minimum of 4 hours, or overnight. The soak is complete when the semolina has absorbed the butter fully and the mixture is thick, cohesive, and no longer fluid — this is where the dish lives or dies: a soak shorter than 4 hours leaves the semolina grains partially dry, producing a coarse graininess in the finished cake that no subsequent step can correct.
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2
Heat the oven to 170 °C. Grease a 20 cm square tin and line the base and sides with baking paper. Beat the eggs with the caster sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is pale and slightly thickened — it should fall from the whisk in a slow, continuous ribbon, which tells you enough air has been worked in to lift what is otherwise a very dense batter.
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3
Pour the egg-and-sugar mixture over the soaked semolina and fold gently with a large spatula — do not beat, so the air beaten into the eggs is preserved and the cake has some lift rather than baking into a flat, heavy slab. Add the ground almonds, baking powder, rose water or pandan extract, and brandy or Cointreau if using, then continue to fold only until the batter is uniform: no dry pockets of almond, no streaks of egg. The batter should be thick and heavy; over-mixing after the eggs are added toughens the cake.
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4
Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and smooth the surface level so the cake bakes evenly rather than rising more steeply at one side. Bake for 45–55 minutes. The cake is done when the top is deep golden and the edges have pulled away slightly from the tin and formed a firm, lightly crispy border.
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5
Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool completely in the tin — do not cut while warm, because the centre continues to firm from a soft, almost pudding-like state to a dense, moist crumb as the residual heat works through. Confirm readiness by pressing the centre with a fingertip: the indentation should spring back slowly — immediate rebound indicates over-baking, while an indentation that stays depressed indicates under-baking or insufficient cooling.
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6
Glaze with royal icing or dust evenly with icing sugar. Cut into squares only once the cake is fully cold and the icing has set, so the squares hold their shape cleanly at the cut edge rather than collapsing inward.