Basbousa
Semolina cake with yogurt, ghee, almonds and input-based syrup.
Preparation: 25 min · Cooking: 30 min · Total: 55 min · 20 servings
Ingredients
- 400 g coarse semolina — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- 160 g plain whole-milk yogurt — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- 140 g sugar for dough — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- blanched whole almonds — 20 — One almond per small piece: 20 pieces per base pan, 80 for four pans.
- 150 g sugar for syrup — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
- 150 ml water for syrup — Input quantity, not a finished syrup-volume promise. Do not top up to 300 ml.
- 120 g melted ghee for dough — Cool melted ghee to comfortably warm before handling. Separate pan grease is listed.
- 5 g ghee for greasing the pan — Separate from the 120 g dough ghee; four equivalent pans need 20 g.
- 0.5 tsp baking powder — Measured for the base batch; scale with the selected yield.
Instructions
Measure cake and syrup separately
Measure the dough ingredients and keep syrup sugar and water separate. The base uses 120 g dough ghee plus 5 g pan grease, not 120 g shared between both. Keep dairy refrigerated until needed.
Dough and syrup allowances are separately measured.
Prepare equivalent baking pans
Use one approximately 24 × 24 cm metal pan for the base batch and four equivalent pans for a fourfold batch. Grease each with its 5 g allowance. Use a sufficiently deep pan for filled cake; preheat the oven to 190°C.
Pan is greased and oven is preheated.
Coat the grains and bind gently
Mix 400 g semolina, 140 g dough sugar and 0.5 tsp baking powder. Rub in 120 g melted, cooled ghee until the grains are coated, then gently fold in 160 g yogurt. Do not overwork or taste the raw mixture.
Grains are evenly coated and the dough is uniform.
Spread even layers
Spread the dough evenly in the greased pan, aiming for about 1.5 cm where the pan permits. Score 20 small pieces and place one blanched almond in each. Fourfold means four equivalent pans, not one deeper cake.
Layers are even and the pan is not overfilled.
Prepare the input-based syrup
Bring 150 g syrup sugar and 150 ml syrup water to a boil, stirring until dissolved. Simmer gently for about 2 minutes. Keep hot for pouring, reheating just before use if needed. This is not a guaranteed 300 ml yield; do not top up. For four pans use 600 g sugar and 600 ml water.
Sugar has dissolved; syrup is hot without a fixed output-volume promise.
Syrup simmer check: 120 seconds
Bake until the centre is cooked
Bake at 190°C, checking from 25–30 minutes until edges are golden and the centre is fully cooked without raw dough. Continue as needed; time and surface colour alone are not guarantees.
Centre is cooked, not raw or gummy; edges are golden.
Cake baking check: 1800 seconds
Pour hot syrup cautiously
Use oven gloves and a stable heatproof surface. Slowly pour the hot prepared syrup over the hot cake just baked at 190°C, keeping away from steam and splashes. Use all the syrup produced from the measured inputs; divide evenly between pans in a larger batch.
Syrup is evenly distributed without raw dough remaining.
Portion and cool promptly
Portion into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly within 1 hour at 4°C or colder; do not wait for complete cooling on the counter. Use within 2 days.
Cake is cooked, portioned shallowly and chilled within the selected limit.
Serve the selected portions
The base pan is divided into 20 small pieces; four equivalent pans give 80. These are serving conventions, not kitchen-tested portion weights. Keep the remainder refrigerated.
Only the intended serving is removed from refrigeration.
Tips
- Ingredient amounts scale with the selected yield; cooking and cooling times are checks, not multiplied guarantees.
Common mistakes
- Relying only on the timer instead of the stated doneness checks.
Substitutions
- Use the specified master ingredients; optional substitutions need separate quantity and preparation review.
Storage
Portion into shallow containers and refrigerate promptly within 1 hour at 4°C or colder; do not wait for complete cooling on the counter. Use within 2 days.
Reheating
Reheat only the portion needed, at most once, to 74°C throughout. Do not repeatedly warm and cool the batch.
About this recipe
This owner-approved Egyptian cake master uses explicit dough and syrup ingredients; historical origin claims have not been independently verified.
Editorial approval does not establish independent kitchen testing. Check allergens and follow safe food handling.