Egyptian Basbousa Recipe (Semolina Cake)

This Basbousa recipe is a delicious and easy-to-make Egyptian dessert. It's made with semolina flour, ghee and shredded coconut, topped with hazelnuts and soaked in sugar syrup.

Basbousa is a delightful dessert that everyone will want to have a taste of as it is sweet, soft, and very tasty.

What is Basbousa?

Basbousa means "just one kiss" in Arabic. Its texture is cake-like, but it's richer and denser, and It has a sweet and nutty flavour.

It is a simple Arabic dessert for those who want a quick dessert. It's very easy to make, and all you need to do is mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl, pour in a baking pan then bake it.

Egyptian Basbousa Ingredients

• Butter or Ghee: You can use melted ghee or butter, and you can't replace them with oil.
• Coconut: You can use sweetened or unsweetened shredded coconut. If you're using unsweetened coconut, you may need to add one or two tablespoons of sugar to the recipe.
• Semolina: You can also decide to use fine or coarse semolina.
  Coarse semolina is often used in most Egyptian semolina cake recipes.
• Sugar: You can use raw sugar or white sugar. Brown sugar isn't advisable because it might change the Basbousa's texture, making it chewy and sticky.
• Milk: It makes your semolina cake moist and lighter. However, you can use whole milk, coconut milk or almond milk. You can also use greek yogurt instead.
• Heavy Syrup: It makes your semolina cake very moist, tastes good and melts in your mouth as you eat it.
• Topping: hazelnut (optional): You can use hazelnut as a topping. Although, this is optional and not compulsory. So, it all depends on what you want. Asides from topping with hazelnuts, you can also use another type of nut.
• Sugar Syrup: You need to prepare the sugar syrup separately. Follow the instructions on how to prepare it to get the best result. Note that there are different ways of making sugar syrup.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

How to Make Basbousa?

One - Preparations: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F and grease a 30cm baking pan with butter.

Two - Make the heavy syrup (which will be used in making the base): In a small saucepan, add sugarcane water over medium heat, bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes more, turn off the heat.

Three - Make the sugar syrup: In a saucepan, add sugar, water, and lemon juice over medium to high heat. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for 6-7minutes, then turn off the heat and let it cool down.

Four - Make the semolina cake: Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove.

Five - In a large mixing bowl, combine the semolina and melted butter, then stir in the coconut and mix until well combined.

Six: Add to the semolina mixture milk (or greek yogurt), sugar, and the heavy syrup mix until combined, then transfer the mixture (thick batter) into the baking pan.

Seven: Cut it using a knife (optional) and top it with some hazelnuts.

Eight: Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. As soon as you take it out of the oven, pour the cool syrup over it. Let it cool down, then serve.

Success Tips

• Brush the baking pan generously with ghee, butter or even baking spry.
• You can use any nuts you fancy as topping, such as pine nuts, almond or pistachios, if you do not have hazelnuts.
• Pour the syrup over the Basbousa while it is still hot. With this, it will quickly absorb the syrup and becomes very moist.
• Cut your semolina cake before baking. This makes it much easier for you to make beautiful cuts when fully baked.
• Keep an eye on the batter when baking, as the cooking time may be different depending on how fast your oven is.
• If you do not have whole milk, you can use almond milk or coconut milk (not coconut water) instead.
• If your oven temperature rises while baking, you will have Basbousa with dark brown bottom and sides and dry. To prevent this, reduce your oven's heat.
• Use a 12-inch baking pan if you want a thin semolina cake. With this, you can have a shorter baking time.
• You may use greek yogurt instead of milk, and you will get the same result.
• Add a few drops of rose water or orange blossom water to the syrup for extra flavor.
• Drizzle with honey syrup instead of simple syrup.

Recipe FAQs

More Middle Eastern Desserts

Check also Baklava Kataifi rolls, Om Ali dessert and Kunafa.

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Recipe Card