BASBOUSA EGYPTIAN SYRUP CAKE
This Egyptian recipe for sweet semolina cake is incredibly easy to make. It’s drenched with a delicious rosewater and lemon syrup, making it a perfect dessert to finish off a savoury meal. We have used coarse semolina to give a crunchy texture, but you can substitute with fine semolina if you prefer.
Ingredients
For the cake:
2 1⁄2 cups coarse semolina
90g desiccated coconut
220g caster sugar
75g self-raising flour
200g thick yoghurt
200g unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 lemon, zested
25-30g blanched whole almonds
For the syrup:
330g sugar
250ml water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp rosewater
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C
Mix together the semolina, coconut, sugar, flour, yoghurt, melted butter, vanilla and lemon zest in a medium-sized bowl
If the mixture seems too thick, add a little milk, but it should still be quite firm
Spread the mixture with your hands into a buttered and lined 30cm x 25cm x 5cm baking tray and smooth down. Score into diamond shapes and place an almond in the centre of each diamond
Bake for 35-40 mins or until golden brown
Place the sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer for 5 mins without stirring. Stir in the lemon juice and rosewater, remove from heat and set aside to cool
Pour the syrup over the cake while the cake is still hot. Leave to cool completely before serving