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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.

SnacksMainsVegetarian
50 min15 prep · 35 cookEasy771 kcalper serving
Basbousa

Instructions

  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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