This recipe reminds me of the Goan cake which my mom prepares on special occasions - Batika.
Basbousa is a traditional Middle East sweet cake that originated from Egypt which is prepared by soaking in sugar syrup. I tried it for the first time and I was amazed that this delicious cake is so easy to make. More easier than sponge cake.
1 cup measure = 230 ml
Ingredients used for cake mixture:
Eggs - 3
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Yogurt - 1 cup
Melted butter - 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp
Semolina - 1 1/2 cup
All purpose flour (maida) - 1/2 cup
Dry coconut powder - 1 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Garnishing:
Almonds / cashew nuts
For sugar syrup:
Sugar - 1 cup (if you don't like it very sweet, reduce the quantity here)
Water - 1 cup
Lemon juice - 4 to 5 tsp
Rose water syrup - 1 tsp
Butter - 15 to 20 gm (optional)
Instructions for preparing Basbousa:
Let's start with this.
First, take eggs and sugar and beat them until sugar is dissolved. Mixture should become pale and fluffy.
Next, add yogurt, melted butter and vanilla extract and mix it lightly to combine well.
Now add the remaining ingredients; semolina, all-purpose flour, dry coconut powder, baking powder and salt. (If you are using salted butter, then you can skip salt here. I did not add salt as the butter I used was already salty.)
Mix it well slowly.
Apply butter to the container in which you are going to bake. Pour the mixture in the container.
Draw lines on the mixture to form diamond shape and place almonds or cashew nuts on each piece. Allow the mixture to set for 15 mins.
Pre-heat the oven before placing the container in the oven.
It will take around 30 to 35 mins to bake depending on your oven.
Using a knife, check if it is baked.
Meanwhile while the cake is being baked, let's prepare the syrup which adds the flavor to this cake and make it special and different.
Take sugar and water in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
Now add lemon juice, rose water syrup and butter. You can skip butter if you don't like butter. I add butter because I like dairy products and butter makes it more tasty.
Reduce heat and simmer for 8 to 10 mins.
Once the cake is baked, remove it and cut it again as you did before.
Pour the sugar syrup over it while it is hot. Make sure the cake is hot while pouring the syrup so that it absorbs all the water.
Allow it to cool and then serve.
Note: When I say allow it to cool, I don't mean 1 or 2 hours. When I first took the first bite soon after 15 minutes, I was highly disappointed as it was very very sweet which I usually don't prefer. After 2 hours when I took the next bite, I felt I wasted all the ingredients as it has excess sweetness. But wait...
It's not the end.
I unwillingly took another piece next morning as I didn't want to waste the cake. But to my surprise, it was tasting awesome. Sweetness level had dropped and it was perfect for my taste. And I could not stop myself with one piece. Just to tell you how delicious it was, it didn't last for more than two days.
I do try a lot of recipes. Some are good enough to eat only one's and some are terrible. But this one is such that I will keep doing it again and again.
A few tips:
1. If you don't like yogurt, substitute it with milk. I am not sure if the taste remains the same. You can try.
2. If you are using almonds, soak them overnight. If you forgot to soak, just boil them in hot water for sometime and leave it to soak for 10 to 15 mins and then peel off.
3. Salt - Don't add it if not required. Taste the mixture before adding salt. This will depend on the type of butter you use.
4. Don't over-bake it. Check after 25 mins using knife or once you notice golden brown color.
5. Pour syrup when the cake it hot and make sure to cut it before pouring.
6. Give enough time for the cake to absorb the sugar syrup (maybe 10 to 12 hours) and don't jump to eat it immediately like I did. :)
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