Basbousa - Middle East Sweet

Sliced Basbousa

Poured Syrup Over Cake

Baked Cake

Before Baking

Ingredients:

Semolina - 1 cup
Dessicated Coconut - 1/4 cup
Wheat flour - 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Milk - 3/4 cup
Curd - 1/4 cup
Brown sugar (powdered) - 1/2 cup
Unsalted butter - 1/2 cup
Almond esc - 1/2 tsp or Vanilla esc - 1 tsp
Almonds - 16-18

Syrup:
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Water - 3/4 cup
Lime juice - 2 tsp
Rose Water - 1 tbsp
Saffron Strands - Little

Method:

• In a bowl add semolina, flour and baking powder and mix well.
• To this add powdered brown sugar and mix well.
• Now melt butter in a pan.
• Let this cool a bit.
• To this add milk and curd and whisk well.
• Add the dry ingredients to this and mix well.
• Grease a pan and line with butter paper.
• Pour the batter and let it sit for 5 mins.
• It will turn to a thick batter, level it using spatula.
• Make criss cross lines and place almonds in each box(refer pic).
• Bake this in a preheated oven(OTG) at 180°C for 35-40 mins.
• While the cake is baking, you can prepare the syrup.
• In a pan add sugar, water and lime juice and whisk well.
• Set this in low flame, till you get a light brown color.
• Add in saffron strands and rose water and boil for 2 mins.
• Now take the baked cake out and make the same pattern with knife again.
• Pour the warm syrup over the baked cake.
• Let it sit till the cake absorbs all syrup.
• Cut and serve the basbousa.

Note:

• I didn't use rose water, almond esc or vanilla esc.
• Instead 1/4 tsp rose esc in wet ingredients.
• Also original recipe uses 2 tbsp of lime juice and I felt like it was overpowering.
• So reduced the quantity accordingly.