※ Basboosa / Semolina Cake

Semolina Cake (20cm/ 9-inch square baking dish)

For Syrup:

625g sugar
200ml water
Drops of lemon
1 teaspoon orange blossom water
1 teaspoon rosewater

For the cake:

400g semolina
200g caster sugar
40g unsweetened desiccated coconut
1 / 2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons of the syrup ready and cold
150ml milk (this is the minimum you will need, but you may need more, according to your semolina)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
30 g melted butter
tahini (sesame paste)
blanched almonds (I didn't use these)

Make the syrup:

In a small saucepan, combine sugar and water. Bring to heat and cook, stirring until it boils. Add drops of lemon and boil for 3 minutes. Let cool and mix the rose and orange blossom water.

Make the batter:

Grease a baking dish with tahini and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix semolina, sugar, coconut and baking powder.

Make a hole in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the butter, vanilla, syrup and milk gradually.

Mix with your hands. The semolina will absorb the milk – add more little by little, until the batter looks and feels like a thick porridge.

Pour the mixture into the greased baking dish, cover and let rest for about 12 hours.

Preheat oven to 400F (or 200°C). With a knife, mark 3cm squares in the dough, and place an almond in each square.

Bake until dough rise a little and pass the toothpick test, about 15-20 minutes. Remove from oven, cut squares where once you’ve checked the lines and return to oven for a few minutes to brown.

Heat the syrup. Soak the hot cake with the syrup while hot and let cool very well to remove from the pan. Serve with the remaining syrup.

Recipe from: the cookie shop