Skip to main content

Basbousa / Semolina Cake


Basbousa is a traditional Arabic sweet cake. It is known by different names in different regions, like Nammoura in Lebanon; Hareesa in Jordan, Ravani/Revani in Greece and so on. Similarly, the recipe varies according to different regions. Some recipes contain eggs; yogurt or milk; coconut; and some are prepared using clarified butter(ghee) or vegetable oil.


The recipe below is the Libyan recipe which is eggless and neither yogurt or coconut. I used melted butter for the same.


Ingredients:
Recipe Source: 7aum Suvai

Semolina/Rava - 1.5 cups
All purpose flour - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Melted butter - 1/2 cup
Milk - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Baking soda - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Almonds - 16

For Sugar Syrup
Sugar - 1 cup
Water - 1 cup
Lemon juice - 1tsp


Method:
  • Soak almonds in hot water for 20-30 minutes. Remove skin and keep aside.
  • Make sugar syrup by adding sugar,water and lemon juice in a sauce pan. Bring to boil and cook until it is sticky and the sugar melts completely. Keep aside.
  • In a bowl add rava, flour,sugar, baking powder, baking soda and mix well.
  • Then add melted butter, milk and vanilla essence and fold everything together gently.
  • Preheat oven to 180 C.
  • Grease a cake pan with butter.
  • Pour the batter to the pan and gently pat to spread evenly.
  • Score the batter with a knife either square or diamond. Place the almonds on the top of each square or diamond.
  • Bake for 30 mins. After 30 mins remove from oven and cut through on the scored line. Again place it back to the oven and bake it for 12-15 minutes more until well cooked and brown on top.
  • Remove from oven and pour cold sugar syrup over the hot basbousa. Cover everywhere with sugar syrup and allow to soak for 40-45 minutes.
  • Once it reaches the room temperature, slice along the scored lines and serve along with tea or coffee.






 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Always happy to hear from you.....

Popular posts from this blog

Caramel Cake

This time, I am deeply smitten with the vacation bug, and I still haven't recovered from it yet. A trip to The Capital was the main highlight of this year's vacation and we especially my kids thoroughly enjoyed it. It was their many firsts--first looong trip in the train (48 hrs), first trip to the North, first long trip with their grandparents and so on.....So you could imagine their excitement!! Meanwhile, many special days like the Mother's day and Father's Day have come and gone, but I was never in a mood to at least make an effort to bake something for those special days.....Anyways, let me hope this Caramel Cake would compensate for all those lazy bygone days..... Once again, when I have to make a come back, I normally depend on the Fondbites, Bake Along Recipes and this time too, didn't alter that routine!! No more blabbing, off to the recipe for the Caramel Cake (Fondbites, Bake Along # 18). Ingredients: For the Cake Unsalted butt...
Post a Comment
Read more

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This Oven Cold Cream Cheese Pound Cake was  Bake Along #11 . And this had a speciality too!! You needn't preheat your oven like you do when baking normally. Just cream and mix the ingredients and pop it into your oven....simple!  A pound cake is a type of cake traditionally baked with a pound of four main ingredients: flour, butter, eggs and sugar. You could add different flavours or dried fruits for a variation. In this pound cake, I added cream cheese too and guess what I got-- an utterly delicious and yummy yummy cake!! Ingredients: Cake flour- 115 gms Butter - 115 gms, softened Cream Cheese - 115 gms, softened Eggs- 3 Baking powder - 3/4 tsp Salt - 1/2 tsp Sugar - 1 cup Vanilla essence - 1 tsp Method: NO PREHEATING the oven!!  Butter and flour a loaf pan and line the bottom with butter paper. Place softened butter and cream cheese in a bowl and beat using an electric beater until soft and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Karachi Biscuits

The Fondbites Bake Along # 59 was Karachi Biscuits, which were new to me.... However, Mr. Hubby said it was famous in Hyderabad and every bakeries sold these biscuits.... Anyways, I gave it a try with few changes in the original ingredients..... Now, on to my tweaked recipe: Ingredients: Recipe Source: Fondbites Butter – 350 gms, softened Icing sugar – 1 1/2 cups All purpose flour – 3 cups Baking powder – 1/2 teaspoon Orange zest – grated from 1 whole orange Fresh orange juice – 1/4 cup Pure vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon Tutti Fruiti – 100 gms, orange coloured Almonds – 1 cup, finely chopped Method: Whisk together all-purpose flour, baking powder, zest of orange in a big bowl. Add tutti fruiti and chopped almonds and mix well using your hands until the flour mixture coats the tutti fruiti well. Keep aside. Add butter into the bowl of your electric beater and beat on medium speed for 2 to 3 minutes until it becomes lig...
Post a Comment
Read more