Egypt · Africa
Basbousa
Hot cake meets cool syrup, and diffusion does the rest.
Egyptian basbousasemolina syrup cake
The Chemistry in This Bake
Pouring cool sugar syrup over the hot baked semolina cake and letting it diffuse all the way through.
Learn the full technique →Ingredients
- Semolina
- Sugar
- Yogurt
- Butter (melted)
- Baking soda
- Coconut (optional)
- Almonds (for topping)
- Sugar and lemon (for syrup)
- Water (for syrup)
Method
Simmer sugar, water, and lemon into a light syrup; cool it completely.
Mix semolina, sugar, yogurt, melted butter, and baking soda into a thick batter.
Spread the batter in a buttered pan and score into diamonds.
Press an almond into the center of each piece.
Bake at 190 °C for 30-35 minutes until golden.
Pour the cool syrup over the hot cake and let it soak through completely before slicing.