Basbousa — the Middle Eastern sweet cake

This humble semolina cake from the Middle Eastern region is a must during Iftar celebrations during the holy month of Ramadan. The cake is also known as Revani in Turkey, Namoura in Lebanon, Shamali in Armenian cuisine, Hareesa in Jordan and Gabelouze in French. All these items have different names and vary slightly, but the core product is the same.
Basbousa is cooked with coconut, butter soaked in rose scented sugar syrup and garnished with nuts. In Arabic, we can call our loved ones “basbousa”. This demonstrates how nice this dessert’s name is, and its significance in the Arabic cuisine.
But today I will tell you about a variant of the traditional basbousa, which I recently tried and it so much that I decided to share the recipe with all my readers. It is very easy to prepare and the best thing I like about it is that you can make it ahead of time, thus making it a no-fuss dessert.

Coffee Basbousa

Ingredients

For basbousa
Semolina 800gm
Desiccated coconut 100gm
Milk powder 50gm
Sugar 50gm
Yeast 1tsp
Honey 100gm
Water 600ml
Tahina     2tbsp
Ghee 100gm
Cocoa powder 2-3tbsp

Garnish
Nuts 100gm
Chocolate 150gm

For Sugar syrup
Sugar 2kg
Water 1kg
Rose water 4tbsp        
Glucose 150gm

Method
First let’s prepare the sugar syrup by boiling sugar and water together in a heavy bottom pan.
Once the sugar is dissolved, add glucose to thicken the sugar syrup and rose water to flavour it.
Remove the syrup from the flame and keep aside.
In a separate bowl combine semolina, desiccated coconut, milk powder, sugar, yeast honey, ghee, cocoa powder and water.
Mix well to get a thick mixture; if the mixture is too thick, dilute with milk as required.
Allow the mixture to rest for two hours and the yeast to ferment and make the mixture fluffy and light.
Grease a baking tray with tahina and place the mixture in the tray and flatten it with moist spatula.
Mark the top of the mixture in diamond shape or squares using a spatula.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 250 degree Celsius till the mixture is cooked and the crust is golden brown.
Remove from oven and pour the sugar syrup using a ladle.
Allow to cool down for 30 minutes and grate dark chocolate on top.
Sprinkle roasted and crushed nuts on top and serve as required.

Note
To make the regular basbousa without coffee and chocolate, remove both of these from the recipe and enjoy the taste of classic home-baked basbousa. Also you can flavour your sugar syrup with cardamom pods as per your preference.
Apart from being baked, basbousa can also be made on stove top. What distinguishes the two versions is that the later uses finely milled semolina as compared to the coarse ground for the baked one. You will come across a lot of recipes that call for eggs, baking soda and many other such leavening things. But I prefer to use yeast as it gives the right amount of fluffiness to the basbousa and also helps get the perfect brown not-so-hard crust on top. Some people also use diluted yoghurt, you can use it instead of the milk used in the recipe. One important thing to remember while using yoghurt in your recipe is to add a little water so that semolina can absorb enough moisture to achieve that lovely nutty texture that basbousa is famous for. Adding some desiccated coconut also takes basbousa to a next level in taste.
The stove top basbousa version is also found in Indian culture and is known as Sooji Halwa. This is one of my favourite easy-to-make no-fuss desserts. Although the main ingredient is the same, the product differs in its taste and consistency.
Basbousa is served regularly throughout the Middle East and is one of the several desserts that are served during the holy month of Ramadan. There is a popular dessert shop in Doha that I regularly visit to satisfy my sweet cravings. I always find myself gravitating towards basbousa and kunafeh, which I have mentioned in my previous write-ups also.
To give a signature twist to your home-made basbousa, top it with whipped cream and exotic fruit purees like blueberry, cranberry, and strawberry. Personally I prefer topping it with orange puree, as it gives the dessert a perfect blend of sweet and tangy flavour.