Egyptian Basbousa (Semolina Cake)

5 from 9 votes

Basbousa is a delicious and easy-to-make Egyptian dessert. It is sweet, soft, and very tasty!

Prep Time10

Cook Time30

Total Time40

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Egyptian, Middle Eastern

Servings: servings

Calories: 459kcal

Author: Radwa

Preparations: Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Grease a 30cm baking pan with butter.
Making the heavy syrup (which will be used in making the base): In a small saucepan, add sugar and water, bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes more, turn off the heat.
⅓ cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoon water, few drops of lemon juice
Making 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.
1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Making the semolina cake: Melt the ghee in the microwave or on the stove.
1 cup ghee, melted
In a mixing bowl, combine the semolina and melted ghee, then add the coconut and mix until well combined.
3 cups semolina, 1 cup ghee, melted, ⅓ cup shredded coconut
Add to the previous mixture milk, sugar, and the heavy syrup mix until combined, then transfer the mixture into the baking pan. Cut the Basbousa using a knife (optional) and top it with some hazelnuts.
¾ cup milk, 1 cup caster sugar, ⅓ cup heavy syrup
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Let it cool down, then serve.

Pour the syrup over while it is still hot. With this, it will quickly absorb the syrup and becomes very moist.
Cut the semolina cake before baking. This makes it much easier for you to make beautiful cuts when fully baked.