It has been a while since I shared a dessert recipe here on the blog, so much for challenging myself to more baking! So, how about a little basbousa? Basbousa is an Egyptian semolina cake drenched in syrup. Today, I’m sharing my aunt Maha’s special recipe!
It’s Easter weekend. Definitely the time when our minds are busy with egg-cellent recipes and ham or lamb dinners, am I right? In case you missed them, two of my favorite egg recipes are: shakshuka and this easy Mediterranean egg casserole. As far as lamb goes, I admit, I can’t quite decide on one; braised lamb chops, lamb rack, or leg of lamb? What have you decided on for your Easter dinner?
And for dessert?
Semolina treats are popular throughout the Middle East and parts of Europe. There are, quite frankly, too many semolina cake variations out there. Some recipes call for eggs, others call for yogurt. Some use a honey-based syrup, others use a sugar-based syrup. Some syrups are flavored with citrus like orange or tangerine peels, and others use spices like cinnamon or cloves. All semolina treats I have tried are pretty good, but my aunt Maha’s basbousa is my absolute favorite!
The date was July 18, 2014 when aunt Maha graciously e-mailed me her recipe for basbousa (semolina cake drenched in syrup). This is among her specialty dishes that I have counted on enjoying every time we visit her home in Toronto. And because we were not going back for a while, I asked for the recipe so that I can make it for my family and friends in Iowa. Ask and you shall receive!
I don’t know why it took me this long to share this basbousa recipe on the blog. There are two theories behind my reluctance: my selfish desire to keep the recipe all to myself; or, that I am, subconsciously of course, extremely fearful that aunt Maha would not approve of me circulating her recipe. After all, this is a family recipe that she has kept close for years. And here I am, in just a few strokes of the keyboard, making it available to all! Then again, aunt Maha is one of the kindest most generous people I know. She would understand that this is for a greater good.
I have tweaked things slightly, but this remains aunt Maha’s authentic Egyptian basbousa recipe. This is my kind of fuss-free dessert that yields impressive results. I hope you try it soon!
Remember to pin this recipe and share it with loved ones.
Here is the step-by-step for this basbousa (semolina cake):
(print-friendly recipe to follow)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the butter in a small bowl and melt in the microwave. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine together the sugar and yogurt. Now add in the semolina, baking powder and milk. Finally stir in the melted butter, and let the mixture sit briefly so that the butter is absorbed.
Transfer the semolina mixture into a lightly greased 9″-round cake pan or baking dish.
Bake in the 350 degrees F heated-oven for about 40-45 minutes. If necessary, broil ever so briefly so that the top of the basbousa gains color. Watch carefully. When ready, remove from oven.
While the basbousa is baking, prepare the cinnamon simple syrup. In a small sauce pan or pot, combine the sugar, water and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Turn heat to low and let cook for a few minutes until the syrup thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let cool completely, then remove the cinnamon stick.
As soon as the basbousa is removed from the oven, pour the cool syrup on the hot basbousa. Let cool completely; syrup must be absorbed into the cake. For best result, let it sit for 1 hour before serving.
When ready to server, top the cake with the coconut chips and the coconut and shaved almonds. Slice and enjoy!
Basbousa: Almond Coconut Semolina Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 45 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves 8 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeDescription
Basbousa is an Egyptian semolina cake drenched in syrup. Today, I’m sharing my aunt Maha’s special recipe!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup fine semolina PLUS 1 cup coarse semolina (or 2 cups coarse semolina or 2 cups original Cream of Wheat enriched farina)
- 1/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut or coconut chips
- 1/4 cup shaved almonds
Cinnamon Simple Syrup:
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 3/4 cup water
- 1 short cinnamon stick
- 1/4 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place the butter in a small bowl and melt in the microwave. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine together the sugar and yogurt. Now add in the semolina, baking powder and milk. Finally stir in the melted butter, and let the mixture sit briefly so that the butter is absorbed.
- Transfer the semolina mixture into a lightly greased 9″-round cake pan or baking dish. Bake in the 350 degrees F-heated oven for about 40-45 minutes. If necessary, broil ever so briefly so that the top of the basbousa gains color. Watch carefully. When ready, remove from oven.
- While the cake is baking, prepare the cinnamon simple syrup. In a small sauce pan or pot, combine the sugar, water and cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil on high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Turn heat to low and let cook for a few minutes until the syrup thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Let cool completely, then remove the cinnamon stick.
- As soon as the basbousa is removed from the oven, pour the cool syrup on the hot basbousa. Let cool completely; syrup must be absorbed into the cake. For best result, let it sit for 1 hour before serving.
- When ready to serve, top the cake with the coconut chips and the coconut and shaved almonds. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Cooking tip: Allow cinnamon simple syrup to cool completely before pouring it onto the hot basbousa
- Cooking tip: For best results, let Basbousa sit for 1 hour before serving. This allows for the syrup to be absorbed into the cake.
- Visit our store to browse our spices, olive oils and bundles!
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Keywords: Basbousa, Semolina Cake, Coconut Semolina, Almond Coconut Cake, Cake, Sweets
More Dessert Recipes:
Greek Yogurt Parfait with Kahlua and Nuts
HI
Can this cake be made in spring foam pan?
Thanks you
Hi Anam, no I would not advice it. Among other reasons, you will be pouring syrup right on top of the hot cake, and it will seep through.
Hello! I m Egyptian but lives abroad and I can’t wait to try the basbousa for my family. I only have fine semolina, and I don’t have any other kind of flour but normal whole wheat flour and all purpose unbleached… Can I use 2 cups of fine semolina? How would that affect the receipe? Thank you 🙂
Mona, 2 cups of fine semolina will work. Coarse semolina is more traditional and yields better results in terms of the texture of basbousa. I would not use all-purpose flour, however. Enjoy.
Thanks for this recipe. I made it many times for my family and friends, it’s very delicious and successful.
Reem, so happy to hear it! This is one of my favorite desserts!
I love this cake, but being prediabetic, can I use a sugar substitute for the syrup? I do not like the tast of the
substitues, they are way to sweet. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi Juliette. I will be honest with you, I’ve only ever made this cake using sugar…I am not sure if there is a good substitute that tastes close enough, but if I come across one, i’ll circle back here and share.
Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! I love making exotic recipes, and this was a delicious and easy way to express my interest in international baking. Here are my notes:
I sifted my semolina the way I would any flour (Bob’s Red Mill) and did all my mixing with a whisk or spoon – no mixer. When I added the butter, at first it appeared not to incorporate and pooled up, but after some gentle stirring and then 5-10 minutes to settle, it absorbed thoroughly into the batter and there was no trace. I greased my pan with unrefined coconut oil but did not flour it – 43 minutes achieved perfect doneness. The cake was unmistakably golden and very firm and sturdy when touched in the center. I was so proud.
Instead of a cinnamon stick, I used a scant ½ tsp ground cinnamon and let my paranoia bully me into cooking the simple syrup about 20 minutes because I wanted to make sure it had thickened. I put it in the fridge (then freezer) to speed the cooling while the basbousa finished baking and stirred it occasionally. It wasn’t completely cool when I poured it over the hot cake. The syrup had boiled down to exactly 2 cups and I poured it slowly over every bit of the cake – it sits on top of the cake before slowly absorbing, and it briefly appeared to flood the pan, but I assure you, it all soaks in! We let it sit for a few hours before slicing and even our pickiest eater had a slice!
Coconut and almonds provide a delightful crunch that really compliments this dense, delectably moist cake, but it is certainly flavorful enough on its own.
★★★★★
Thank you for your thoughtful comment and for sharing your feedback! So glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I just happened to stumble upon this recipe and made it today. Actually it is getting baked in the oven as I’m writing this..I must say this is an awesome recipe which is quite easy to make if you have the ingredients at hand. I’m from Sri Lanka and we quite like some spices in our food. I just added a pinch of nutmeg to the batter and and cardomom to the syrup. Can’t wait to taste how good it is. Thanks Suzy!
Wonderful, Madhu! Thanks for sharing!
could i do crushed cinnamon instead of a stick of it? also i added rosewater and it tasts pretty good!
★★★★★
Sure a little cinnamon powder would work! Enjoy!
I don’t like yogurt, I am looking for a recipe for basbousa with milk, can I substitute the yogurt with milk?
Hi Cleveland, unfortunately i don’t have a recipe for Basbousa that doesn’t use yogurt. So sorry. Hope you find one.
You can substitute sour cream for yogurt. I am Lebanese & my mom has taught me this recipe. She always substituted yogurt for sour cream or vice versa. Good luck
What were the tweaks you mentioned that were changed from the original recipe
Hi Barbara, my recipe includes the coconut topping and the syrup is slightly different, but otherwise, it’s very true to original.
I just made it and its delicious. Thanks and I will definitely make it again 🙂
★★★★★
Awesome, Mithla! I am so glad you liked it!
If I don’t have coarse ground semolina, only fine-ground and farina, could I combine those two for 1 cup of each? I am not sure if the flavors would go well. Could I use 2 cups of just fine ground semolina?
Also – could you tell me the recommended fat percentage for the yogurt and milk?
Any that you prefer should actually work. I tend to stay in the middle at 2 % reduced fat milk and reduced-fat yogurt.
Yes, that should work. Or 2 cups of farina alone should work. I tend to like that better than using all fine semolina.
Hi, I would like to try out this recipe tomorrow. What does 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbspoons butter mean? I am new at cooking and is not that familiar with the terms used.
Hi Nihala! I am so sorry I just found your comment. The answer to your question is that you need to measure 1/2 cup of butter and add another 2 tablespoons of butter. Hope this helps.
Hi Suzy,
I can’t wait to try out this recipe! Quick question, can I use fresh shredded coconut or does it have to be dry? I currently have fresh coconuts at home I’d like to use up.
Hi Gigi, I’m thinking it’ll be great to use fresh coconut! I haven’t tried it myself though.
Did you use caster sugar?
★★★★
This looks yummy and I can’t wait to make it!! I would like to use Hun instead of sugar for the syrup, can you suggest how much honey to use please.
Hi Zahida. Generally speaking, if you want to make a honey simple syrup, you’d need to use 2 parts honey to 1 part water. So in this case, you are using 1 3/4 water, which means you’ll need 3 1/2 cups honey. But can start with 2 1/2 to 3 cups of honey. Hope you enjoy it!
I work with many Middle Eastern people and they exposed me to their cuisine at a local restaurant. The cook there makes an amazing basbousa and I, being a baker, wanted to try it. I found your recipe and followed it exactly… and my coworker’s declared it BETTER THAN THE RESTAURANT’S!!
Amazing recipe. Thank you for sharing it!
Thank you so much, Kassie!!!! So glad you all enjoyed it! Hope you find more recipes here to try!
This was absolutely delicious, easy, and addictive! I didn’t refrigerate it and it only lasted 2 days on the counter. I’m so glad for having this added to my recipe collection. Thanks for sharing it! I can’t wait to make this again.
★★★★★
Awesome, Jamie! So so glad you liked it!!!
Hi,
I made this desert just for my boys this Saturday, it was amazing, easy and tasty. I put a pinch of salt. It became even better after 2-3 hours. Thank you!!!
Awesome, Karin! I’m going to try and add a pinch of salt next time…great idea!
Thank you for sharing this story and your Aunt Mahas recipe. I made this for my fathers birthday. I come from a Greek heritage and we have a similar semolina cake but I wanted to make one without eggs or dairy as my father is fasting for Easter.
I replaced the dairy with non dairy yoghurt, milk and butter and it came out amazing!! Thank you thank you for sharing this and big love to your Aunt!
★★★★★
Vykotria, that is wonderful to hear! I am so glad you enjoyed the Basbousa. And happy birthday to your father!
I prepared this cake today as part of a culinary class I got to teach to international high school students. We chose it as the dessert for our Middle Eastern feast! It was absolutely amazing. We didn’t have coconut, also we added a little rosewater to the syrup, and garnished the cake with the almonds and some edible rose petals!! It was wonderfully decadent. I was so proud of the students, too! Thanks for introducing me to this wonderful dessert which is now solidly a part of my repertoire!
★★★★★
I am so glad to hear this, Julie! Thank you for giving this recipe a try. I am so glad you and the class enjoyed it. And thank you for taking the time to share with me.