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Middle Eastern

Basbousa

The classic Egyptian semolina cake: a coarse, buttery crumb baked until golden, scored into diamonds and drenched in lemon-scented sugar syrup while still hot so it drinks the sweetness right through. Baked in a small dish for one, with an almond pressed into the top.

SnacksLunch & dinnerVegetarian
50 min15 prep · 35 cookEasy771 kcalper serving
Basbousa

Method

  1. Make the syrup (sharbat) first so it has time to go cold. Put 50 g of granulated sugar and 50 ml of water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stir until dissolved, then bring to the boil and simmer without stirring for 8 minutes, until very slightly thickened and coating the spoon. Off the heat, stir in 0.5 tsp of lemon juice and 0.25 tsp of rose water. Leave to cool completely — cold syrup on hot cake is what makes basbousa soak properly.
  2. Heat the oven to 190C (fan 170C). In a bowl, whisk together 70 g of coarse semolina, 30 g of caster sugar, 10 g of desiccated coconut, 0.5 tsp of baking powder and 1 pinch of salt.
  3. Add 60 g of plain yogurt and 15 g of melted ghee and fold with a spatula just until you have a thick, sandy paste that drops heavily from the spoon — do not beat it, or the crumb turns tough. Cover and rest 15 minutes at room temperature so the semolina swells and drinks the yogurt.

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Per serving

771kcal
13gprotein
136gcarbs
21gfat
4gfibre

Computed from the ingredients against a food database, not estimated. The full nutrient table is in the app.

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