Basbousa, an Egyptian semolina cake with yogurt is one of the best Egyptian desserts that comes out fairly quick. One bowl, mix and dump kind of recipe, yet is hard to make perfect. Today I am sharing the BEST basbousa recipe that everyone was raving about.
Authentic Egyptian basbousa recipe that is soft and stays soft. A delicious coconut, yogurt and semolina/farina cake that gets sprinkled with nuts and drizzled with syrup to put the final seal of perfection.
Basbousa/basboosa is a term in the Middle east that refers to a very sweet semolina - sort of- cake. Verbally in Arabic we can call our loved ones "basbousa", I sometimes call my little kid " basbousty" which means my basbousa or like saying my sweet.
Basbousa
There are lots of recipes online for basbousa some call for milk some for buttermilk some even add all-purpose flour to it, but this recipe is - in my humble opinion- the best and closer to what is served in Egypt.
Basbousa is sold in every corner in Egypt. Each bakery shop has its own lovely basbousa. It has a secret that has been not revealed yet, but we are trying and will continue to try and we will never stop. Determination is the KEY 🔑to success.
This is a recipe that I've made probably a hundred times throughout my U.S. life. I've made a couple of enhancements and achieved a very satisfying result so far. It is not thick, it is not overly sweetened, the coconut flavor is not overpowering and it is moist and tender and keeps moist and tender for a as long as you have it.
What you'll need
Basbousa tips:
I've used a couple of tricks I've learned so far:
- -I've used Ghee, which in my opinion made a noticeable difference in taste. Clarifying a cup and a half of unsalted butter will get you a little over one cup of ghee and we will need only ½ cup. Clarified butter is not that hard to make.. check out my tutorial here.
- Brush the baking sheet/pan with tahini and ghee, the raw tahini paste works wonders keeping the basbousa soft and it helps with coloring the bottom as well. Do not go overboard though, too much tahini will make your basbousa taste more like Halva.
- Mix in a tablespoon of honey or corn syrup with the batter. It helps to stick everything together.
- Always and I mean ALWAYS with any basbousa recipe, cover it after you've poured the syrup and while it is hot for 5-10 minutes. Actually if you have time, cover it and let it soak in the syrup overnight or until it cools completely. Some chefs though say it is unnecessary, but so far I have found this tip useful.
- And that's pretty much it. I've made my basbousa in a 12 inch rounded baking sheet to end up with pieces that is a little bit over 1cm thickness. If you would love a thicker basbousa, bake it in smaller pan, like 9", and you can easily double/triple the recipe so do whatever seems perfect for you.
Difference between semolina and farina
I get asked this question almost weekly. Here in the US we only have two options either semolina or farina. In the Middle East though there are three options and all are called semolina. There are fine, medium or coarse. Here is a picture of the two different grains we have here. I like using the farina as I always feel semolina will make it cakey which is not the texture of basbousa. You can find more about the brands I typically use here.
How to make basbousa
- In a deep bowl, add farina, sugar, baking powder and coconut flakes if using. Mixing everything well.
- Melt ghee and dissolve honey in it. Pour ghee over the dry ingredients and mix well with a spoon until you feel that all farina granules have been well covered with ghee mixture. You'll end up with a well-wet sandy textured mixture.
- Now add the yogurt to the mix.
- Mix just enough until it disappears in the mixture. Do Not Overmix, if you are afraid you might overmix the ingredients, use your hands.
- Brush the baking sheet/pan with tahini and ghee. This is a tip I've got from many cooks, I used to brush mine with melted butter though. Dump in your baasbousa mix.
- Spread the farina mixture evenly on the pan pressing down with your fingers.
How to cut basbousa like a pro
- You'll need a knife and dip it into some melted butter or ghee. Cut the basbousa into quarters, follow the brown dashed lines.
- Dip your knife again and cut each quarter in halves, follow the green dashed lines.
- Dip again and make a V shape in each quarter, follow the blue dotted lines.
- Dip again and cut the large pieces in two following the red arrows to make a star shape.
- Decorate with nuts if desired in any way you like. My guests just like the decoration above with pistachios and almonds so I stick to that each time.
- Bake as directed below. While it is baking make the syrup and then immediately pour the hot syrup over the hot basbousa carefully.
How to bake basbousa
Baking basbousa right is probably one of the mistakes many do. If it stays too long it will form something like a crust and will be very hard. Bake basbousa in 350F preheated oven, on the middle rack, until the edges start to brown but do not leave it more than 15 minutes even if you did not notice it browning. Now move the pan to the upper shelf of the oven and continue baking until it is nicely browned. Some people like broiling the top, but being me I can easily forget about it until I see smoke coming out of my oven. This whole process should not take you more than 30-35 minutes. Do not be tempted to leave it longer.
More Middle Eastern desserts
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Basbousa
Ingredients
- 1 ⅔ cup (306g) Farina.
- ½ cup ghee.
- 1 Tablespoon honey.
- ½ cup (116g) sugar.
- ½ cup (97g) plain yogurt.
- ½ Tablespoon (6g) baking powder.
- ½ cup (45g) unsweetened coconut flakes finely shredded. Note1
- 0.5 Tablespoon tahini. plus 1 Tablespoon ghee to brush the bottom.
For the syrup:
- 1 cup sugar.
- 1 cup water.
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice.
- 2 Tablespoon honey.
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract. Note2
- Nuts for garnishing Note3
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350F.
Make the cake:
- In a deep bowl, combine farina, baking powder, sugar and coconut then mix well.
- Melt the ghee in the microwave or stove top then dissolve the honey in it.
- Add the ghee mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
- Add the yogurt and mix, just until everything is well incorporated.
- Brush a round 12 inch baking sheet with the tahini and spread the basbousa mixture evenly.
- Spread nuts on top evenly to decorate.
- Bake in the middle of your oven until edges start to brown, this took about 10 minutes. Then move the basbousa up to the higher shelf and let it continue cooking until golden brown will take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes.
Make the syrup:
- When you move the basbousa to the upper shelf start making the syrup.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine syrup ingredients and bring to a boil.
- When it boils, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn heat off and keep the syrup warm.
- When basbousa is done, turn off your oven and take it out.
- Pour the syrup evenly and cover the basbousa immediately with foil. Return to the TURNED OFF oven for 5-10 minutes.
- Take it out, cut and enjoy
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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Kristen S
Do you add any tahini to the basbousa batter? It is listed twice in ingredients (0.5 tablespoons and then 1 tablespoon to brush the pan) but it is not in the directions to add any to the batter. I'm making this for some Egyptian friends of mine to hopefully remind them of home!
Amira
Sorry for the confusion Kristen, it says 1/2 tablespoon tahini plus 1 tablespoon ghee not tahini, I used the combination to brush the bottom of the pan and TBH I dropped the tahini recently, for allergy, and I am using only ghee. I hope this helps.
Kristen S
I see that now! I made this for a picnic and everyone LOVED it! My Egyptian friends said it tasted very authentic and were so excited I brought it! I only had crumbs left at the end.
Jessica
Hi Amira! Which semolina type should I get if I'm in Egypt? Medium or coarse?
Amira
I like using coarse but if medium is all you can get then it is ok. Thanks Jessica.
Layla
Made this tonight and it is heavenly! I only had plain Greek 2% yogurt. Used Mid East brand farina. Love it! Thank you.
Maggie
I made basbousa for the first time, it is incredible. I did not have tahini, so I used plain peanut butter and it was delicious. Thank you
Rasha
Thanks so much for this recipe. I’ve made it a bunch of times and it’s always so good! Today I’m experimenting a little because I didn’t have enough farina. I added a little polenta and flax seed (it’s what I had!) and I hope it’ll be okay. Thank you again. ❤️
Amina
This is going to be my second time making this for my Egyptian husband. It is such an easy and simple recipe. And it taste great! Thank you for sharing all of your recipes. I don’t how to post a picture. I would have shown how great mine out.
Amira
Thanks Amina, I am glad you like the recipe. Unfortunately posting a picture was an option before but now the system does not support it. You are welcome to email me the picture or share it on your social media and tag me so I can see t=it. Thanks again.
IH
Bless you for this, and all the recipes. I love reading and seeing your posts on social media! I tried making basbousa for the first time today. It seemed easy enough. I used oil instead as did not have ghee, and in the syrup, I used half a cup of sugar to 1 cup of water, which was sweet enough, and not overly, as I often find too much sugar in these recipes. It came out fine. Just crumbled quite quickly and did not hold the shape as much as I thought it would. Is that normal, or is there anything I overlooked?
Amira
I think it might be the oil making the batter too thin so it did not hold its shape, also the syrup might have been thinner than the one with a cup of sugar. I hope this helps.
Rosa
Hi Amira.
Thank you for all beautiful recipes.
Just wanted to mention I have made your Basbousa following your recipe (delicious), and I have changed a few things to make it vegan. I used oat milk yoghurt, oat milk and nuttlex margarine. Tasted exactly the same.
Rosa
Hi Amira
Love your recipes. Reminds me of my mum when we use to bake together. Mum honestly had a different recipe, and everyone loved it. But I wanted to try something different. Love it.
I doubled the recipe for the tin I used.
Doris
Thankyou Amira for bringing ne back to my childhood. As my parents were born in Egypt, all these delicious recipes are what I grew up eating. Even though somethings were not so tasty when i was a child, I certainly grew to enjoy them in my teenage and adult years. After recently visiting Egypt from Australia for the first time, I crave and enjoy the food even more... Thankyou, thankyou, thankyou
Amira
Thank you so much Doris for your sweet comment. Funny how many recipes we did not enjoy as kids and find so tasty as an adult :).
Melissa Jenkins
I just tried my first basbousa from a local middle eastern coffee house, here in Plano, Texas. The owners and staff are mostly from Yemen. Lovely place with warm and friendly people. Shout out to De Ra Coffee (and all things tasty and wonderful). 🙂
This is a delicious treat...not too sweet, just perfect. I love the texture of the semolina/farina. The one I tried was in a small round tin and the syrup was on the bottom. So tasty, it made me want to look up the recipe.
Thank you for sharing yours. I haven't tried your recipe, but I plan to.
Thank you for including the cutting/slicing instructions.
Duaa
Had high hopes for this recipe but the ghee flavor was too strong, and the syrup was not enough for the resulting amount of basboosa.
Amira
Duaa, I'm sure something went wrong with you because ghee is actually the heart and soul of many Middle Eastern desserts, or maybe you do not like it that much. Anyways you can always decrease the amount to your liking.
Simi
Amira, you are one and only!!
Kaitlyn
Thank you so much for sharing this lovely gem of a recipe! Your website is a gift from God. I am a multigenerational American and my husband is from Egypt (born and raised, and he first came to the US at the age of 30.) As you may imagine, I was struggling to be able to replicate some of his favorite dishes from back home. I had tried a couple random basbousa recipes that I found online and, while they were not terrible, none of them hit the mark with him. Everything changed the day I discovered your website. After making the basbousa according to your recipe, my Egyptian husband said to me, "Now, THIS is exactly like the basbousa my mother makes!" I now only use your recipes when I want to recreate his favorite childhood dishes and they never disappoint!
Thank you for this wonderful resource! <3
Sincerely,
Kaitlyn
Amira
Kaitlyn, your comment made my day.. thank you so much for your comment and the trust. Yes I know the struggle indeed, I came to the US when I was 34 years old so imagine that! Everything tasted different and my family had trouble enjoying our favorite Egyptian recipes until we learned how to adapt and change the recipes to match the flavors from home :).
Radwa
Allah ynawar, perfection!! I usually jump directly into recipes, but this time I took my time to enjoy your beautiful Very Egyptian introduction. It’s true that it’s different from one another, however, your recipe is a lot closer to my favorite basbousa of all times “La Poire”. Can’t wait for my upcoming vacation, so I’ll try your recipe tonight. Thank you for sharing!
Amira
Allay yenawar aleekee Radwa 🙂 you comment made my day. Thank you so much.
Juan Zul
Valuable insight and thank you for sharing your recipe!! Its not easy to find someone who would share their secret! hehe (:
Tareq
Hi Amira, I want to make this but we don't have Farina over here in Australia, could I use coarse semolina instead? If so, would the measurements stay the same?
Thanks!
Amira
Yes Tareq use coarse semolina, this is what is called farina here in the US.
Erica P
Does this need to be refrigerated?
Amira
You mean after you make it? no it does not.
Yoli
Hi Amira,
If I double the recipe but still use a 12" round pan, should I bake it for longer?
Thank you!
Amira
Yoli, TBH I haven't tried that I think it will be too thick but you can try anyways. Bake it until it is lightly browned at the bottom and up as well. Let us know when you try it.
Merin
Can I double the recipe and make it in a large cookie sheet 16x12.....? I want to make it for my son's school
Amira
I haven't tried that TBH, how about making two?
Kimberly
Thank you for this recipe. My Egyptian husband loves it. I follow many of your great recipes. Instead of farina I use organic cream of wheat. Works perfectly.
Diana Hutchinson
I made this for the Kuwaiti young man staying with me because he told me it was his favorite. He was so surprised that I found a recipe. He and his Kuwaiti friend both said it was good and reminded them of home. My family thought it was good too.
Amira
Thanks Diana for your feedback, glad you all liked it.
Lida
Hi Amira thank you for the recipe I made it and the family loved it, I am making it again this weekend. Thank you
Regards Elida
Amira
Thanks Elida for your comment, I am glad your family loved it.
Minou
Hi! This recipe sounds perfect. I've made basbousa once using another recipe from Libanon. In that recipe cold/cooled syrup was used. As I understand from my "studies" of Middle Eastern baking, cold/cooled suryp is used for cakes directly from the oven and hot suryp is used when the cake is cooled. This is the first Egyptian cake/dessert that I'm going to make. Does it really matter if the suryp is hot or cooled? Is it an Egyptian tradition to use hot suryp on cakes?
Amira
Minou, it depends. For Kunafa for example the syrup is cooled before pouring it over the hot kunafa but here both are hot. This is done when we want a soft texture while the other method yields a crunchy dessert like baklava and kunafa. I hope this helps.
shama dildar
This turned out so good. I always make it for my vegetarian friends who don't eat eggs. making it again today. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Amira
Thank you so much shama, I am so glad you and your friend like it.
Hatem
I do have a busy life but I have to say that when I took time out to make your Basbousa recipe it made the effort so worth it. It was so good, it is and forever will be my go to recipe for the Egyptian sweet. Thanks for checking in, I look forward to your next posting.
Hatem and Maria
Amira
Thank you so much Hatem, glad you liked it.
Zoony
This is my second time making basbousa. Last recipe that I followed ,I used eggs in that. But today I tried your recipe. It’s look great. But it’s not bind together well. It’s very very soft. Please advise me. What should I do. I followed your recipe exactly every step. I want to share basbousa pic too. It’s look exactly like your basbousa but not bind well. Thanks alot
Amira
Zoony, the only thing that comes off the top of my head right now is that it did not set enough, meaning it did not take time to cool down and soak all the syrup. I will dig deeper into this and let you know if I came across another reason.
Naeha Sharif
Best basbousa recipe that I have tried.
Sandra
This is the first time I've ever attempted to make basbousa, and I'm so glad I did because, the basbousa turned out "fantastic", not my words but my husband's. He grew up in Egypt so he knows a thing or two about basbousa.
Thank you so very much for sharing your recipe with the world.
Amira
Thank you so much Sandra for your feedback, I am really so happy that your husband found it fantastic ❤️.
Sabi
Hi, excited to try this recipe! Can I use Greek plain yogurt?
Amira
Sabi, people who tried it with Greek yogurt did not like it. I always use the ordinary yogurt though.
Halima
This was such a great recipe, I used it along side another and it came out delicious! The only thing is I made it a second time and it came out a little too wet? Any tips? Add semolina or flour?
Thanks in advance 🙂
Amira
Thanks Halima, glad you liked it. Did you increase the syrup? what did you change from the first time?
Sana
Have you heard the saying I’m a good cook not a great baker, this gave me the confidence to tackle baking. Guys it is sooo goooood!!! My husband thought I got this from the bakery and was pleasantly surprised that I am the one who made it. Happy Ramadan to everyone! Stay safe and try this recipe!
Amira
Thank you so much Sana for your feedback, I am so thrilled that this will make you start your baking journey :). So happy your family loved it.
Maha
It came out deconstructed 🙁
Amira
You need to wait for it Maha to cool down, anyways it will still taste very good even if it crumbled.
FH
my hubby LOVES this recipe. It's a must during ramadan, but we make it quite often.
Thanks!
Greetings from Norway
Amira
Thanks dear,happy you and your hubby liked it.
Fa
Hi Amira,
I’M from Europe and do not understand the ‘cup’ mesures. Could you please put the gr. instead of cup. Thanx in advance.
Greetings,
F
Amira
Hello Fa, the cake ingredients are already in grams up in the blue recipe card at the end of the post. I hope this helps.
Drita Kadoku
It was so delicious thank you Amira for sharing it
If I wa t to cooment the syrup was not enough I had to make another cup of syrup.
Thanks again
Amira
This is great Drita, happy you liked it.
Annemarie
Hi Amira, I commented that the basbousa didn't stick together. I put it in the fridge last night and today it is just perfect! Thank you for this delicious recipe.
Jumah Mubarak
Amira
Annemarie, I was just about to tell you let it cool down. Although some people like it right out of the oven :). Happy you liked it dear. Jumaa Mubaraka to you too.
Suraksha
What brand of semolina to use?
Amira
Suraksha, thanks for asking. Checkout this page for more details on the semolina brands. Thanks
Allie B
Thank you AMIRA! First time making basbousa and the recipe worked like a charm.
Amira
Allie, I am so happy you liked it :). Thanks for the feedback.
Annemarie
Hi Amira, thank youvery much for sharing. The taste is just yummy, the only thing I have is that it doesn't stick together when I serve it. Any tips? I used farina. x
Sarai
Looks delicious! Would greek yogurt work for this recipe?
Thank you!
Amira
I haven't tried that before Sarai but I remember one comment saying they liked it more with ordinary yogurt. Hope this helps.
Adil Samara
I tried it,by mistake. It was a mistake. Too thick.
Ola
Just tried this recipe. I used semolina though because that’s what I had. It was amazing. I loved how simple and easy it was to make.
Amira
Ola, I am so happy you liked it. Thanks for the feedback.
Alikzandar
Hey,
I just made this for my 20th birthday party. Being a huge fan of rose water, i added some in the syrup. It smells really amazing!
I love celebrating all the cultures of this world. In the Balkans there is a semolina cake called koch (кох) which also gets a pouring, although it is poured over with sweetened milk, the idea is kind of similar.
شكرا
Amira
I am so happy you loved it. I've seen some people pour condensed milk as well over their basbousa, maybe that was the кох.. I need to look it up. Thank you so much for your sweet comment and Happy 20th Birthday!
Ayşe
Hi
Have you ever tried it with Stevia or Monk Fruit sweetener?
Amira
Ayse, I haven't tried that before. Will let you know if I figured that out.
Natalie
I absolutely love your recipe! We make it as a breakfast dish quite often because it’s very tasty with a cup of coffee ☺️. My favorite thing to do is find new dishes from all over the world. Thank you so much for this permanent addition to my collection!
Amira
Natalie, you are a girl after my own heart.. yumm basbousa for breakfast, I would be living in heaven by then :). Thank you so much for your comment I am happy you liked it.
Matthew
is the tahini a paste or powder? using this in my cultures class that i teach.
Amira
It is the paste Matthew, but you can use butter instead or ghee.
farid
We are a group of Arabs living away from home. We have a chef making our food every week. I gave this to our cook and it came out very delicious. We all loved it. Thank you so much for your recipes.
Amira
Oh Farid, thank you so much for sharing your experience. I am so happy that you liked the basbousa.
Shaban
Where do you buy the farina?
Amira
I usually get it from the Middle Eastern stores here, or I get it online. Check out my resources page for more information about that.
Clara Abdullah
Dear Amira,
l'am Egyptian like you l like your cooking and l'am a follower but the way you do your cooking is slightly different from my cooking, most of my cooking is homemade Egyptian food.
Thanks
Regards
Miss Abdullah
Amira
Thank you Carla, I hope you like what you see here. Feel free to share any tips or tricks of your own cooking.
Clara Abdullah
Yes l will do that in the near future
Rehma
Did you use a metal pan to bake?
Amira
Reham, thank you for your interest in the recipe. This was an aluminum pan.
Reem
Why has mine came out a bit cakey? 🙁 Can I maybe skip the baking powder?
Amira
Reem, this happened to me only when I used the fine semolina.. you can skip the baking powder if you want to.
Yasmin
Salam ! Thanks for all these amazing recipes that you post , I made basbousa today exactly as per your recipe , the taste Is AMAZING ! Very different than store bought , so much tastier
However my basbousa was a little too soft A bit crumbly so we had to put it in plates and eat it with spoons not by hand ,Any thought why?
Also is the dough supposed to be thick like you can put it the tray and arrange in with hands or looser like a paste ?
Thanks
Amira
Yasmin, thank you so much for trying the recipe and I am happy you liked how it tastes. Basbousa actually should be soft but not having a loose consistency, you should be able to cut it into squares and left it off the pan. The dough should be bit sandy and does not stick to your hands. From your description, I think the syrup might have been too thin or too much for the pan.. another cause is it might have been covered for too long after it was done. Let me know if this helps.
Cheryl
This came out absolutely amazing. My husband couldn't believe that I made it. He also put some clotted cream on top!. Thank you for such a delicious dessert.
Amira
Suzy, yes some people like adding clotted cream or what we call Eshta on top.. this is yummy. Happy you liked it.
Claire
Hello Amira,
I wanted to thank you for this recipe that really made me happy in this lockdown period!!
As I don't eat dairy products and gluten, I used corn farina, soy yogurt and margarine (all this changes may sound strange to you... but it worked! 🙂 ). And as I only had brown sugar, the result may seem a little "dark", but it was delicious!!
I'll have a look at your other recipes!
Amira
Wow Claire, you have no idea how happy I am. I like people like you a lot, playing with ingredients and experimenting to reach their own flavor or to adapt a recipe to their own liking. Thank you so much for sharing, I am sure many of my readers will try this.
Carrie DeSera
Love this! Turned out delicious!
Love the crispy outside, soft inside. The sesame flavour, lemon too!!
PS: Cut sugar in syrup by half for my taste.
Will make again
Thanks Amira!!
Amira
Carrie, thank you so much for your feedback and for sharing your photos with us.. Glad you liked it.
Carrie DeSera
🙂 what does over mixing do? How do you know if it's over mixed?
Amira
over-mixing develops gluten in basbousa making the batter more rubbery.. I hope I could give you an idea.
Carrie DeSera
I didn't have farina, used semolina. I noticed mine is more crumbly than others, and not cakey.
Any idea why?
Will try with farina next time 🙂
Amira
One friend of mine just used semolina as well and she was very happy with the outcome. So I just asked an Egyptian pastry chef and he said this is usually due to little syrup. To check if the syrup id enough or not, when you pour it press lightly with your finger. You should feel some syrup under your finger yet the whole thing is not drowning in Syrup.
Irina
This one looks and tast amazing.
Thank you for sharing the cutting options.
Amira
Thank you Irina for your sweet comment.
Soha
Is it possible to use semolina instead of farina? I don’t have the latter, and I am not sure how using semolina might affect the recipe. Thank you.
Amira
Soha, semolina sold here in the US has finer texture than farina. My guess is it will be more cake-y but if this is what you have right now and regarding the current situation then do with what you have on hand. It might turn out a bit differently regarding the texture but it will still tastes great. If you are confused about farina and semolina check out the resources page here, it has amazon links on the products and you can zoom in to see how they look. I hope this helps.. best of luck.
Soha
Thank you so much for the prompt response, Amira. I have made it before with semolina and the results were subpar--exactly like you said "cake-y." I love the texture that is evident in your pictures: exactly the texture I remember having back home in Cairo. You are doing an excellent job. Thank you. I will check out Farina on amazon. Maybe it is not one of the items that are backordered, like everything nowadays. Sending you and yours love and wishes of safety from Philadelphia.
Amira
Thank you so much Soha and I hope you will like this basbousa. I actually went today to the Middle Eastern store here and I bought some of the farina bags there. If you can pass by the Middle Eastern store at your state, you'll probably find it there. Stay safe and healthy. Wishing you all the best.
Meriam
Assalamou alikoum ya samira,
Could u tell.me.what.you called FARINA?
Is it.regular flour? Dont think so as basboussa isn't made.of it, smida?
Plz let me.know
Amira
Mariam, you are right it is definitely not flour. I think in Morocco they call flour farina right? anyways can you please check this link for resources. In the first section you'll find the Farina and Semolina, it is very helpful to take a look at these products. Let me know if you need anything else.
Rita
Hiii! I recently made harisa and used tahina to ‘grease’ the pan. Curious as to why tahina is used to grease?
Amira
Rita, Some says it is to keep basbousa tender but I think it is more for not sticking to the pan.
Irina
Hi Amira,
I am so happy to have you as my guide through the Mediterranean food...
I like very much basbousa(even tried it in Egypt many years ago)...
I like cooking as well as baking and tried two different recipes of basbousa. I believe both of them are from your collection. Even though both are great ones, one I liked more then other. My question is: do you have the one that is different from this one? Or you just changed ingredients ? If yes, could you please publish the recipe of the original too?
Thanks a lot in advance.
Irina
Amira
Oh thank you so much Irina for commenting and sharing your feedback, yes I've changed the recipe as this current one is the one that my friends liked more. I have the old one too.. it is down there in the comments as someone else asked for it as well :). Will go now dig in the comments and bring it to you here, no problem.
Amira
Here are the ingredients of the old recipe.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Farina.
1 cup sugar.
3/4 cup finely shredded coconut flakes.
1 cup plain yogurt.
1/2 cup unsalted butter.
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder.
1/2 Tablespoon baking soda.
A dash of vanilla powder.
For the syrup: the same as above.
I hope this will help and thanks for trying the recipe.
Irina
Thanks a lot....Going to prepare it right now for the evening with our relatives....
Amira
Irina, I will be waiting for your photos.Thank you for trying the recipe
Ali Hammad
I just lost a bet to one of my dearest friends. He told me about this recipe and I just said, nay I am sure it won't taste as good as the original one I had in Egypt. This recipe came out too good and addicting, I've made it a couple of times already just to make sure I am not day dreaming :). I liked adding ghee instead of tahini at the bottom of the pan though. Thank you so much dear Amira.
Amira
Thank you so much Ali for your feedback and please tell your friend that I am so grateful for him. Happy you liked the recipe and lost the bet too hehe.
Magda
Hello, your recipe sounds great, please could tell me how long can I keep besbussa - how many days?
And should this cake be kept in the fridge or not?
Thanks in advance!
Amira
Magda, basbousa do not usually last that ling in my home . But I would say 3-4 days on the countertop and It keeps well in the freezer for up to two months.
Sarah
Can you use semolina instead of farina? And would I use half coarse semolina and half fine? You used to have another recipe for basbousa that I used to use all the time! And that was closest to my mums recipe. This seems to have good reviews though so would be great if you could let me know if I could sub farina for semolina. Thanks x
Amira
Sarah, if you go through the comments you'll find someone asking for the old recipe as she was more used to. I've replied her with the full recipe. For this one, some people use Farina while others like Semolina, so it is up to you. I like using the coarse grain as it is closer to what I am used to. The fine grain makes me feel like I am eating a cake. Although basbousa is called a cake but it is not, and I am surprised that some recipes on the internet even use flour along with the semolina which makes it super thick and high eventually leading to something that is not basbousa at all. I hope this will help. Let me know if you have any more questions.
Martha
My husband is Egyptian and grew up in the dessert capital of Egypt . ..Domiat where you can find bosousa to fuleya to Baklawa to anything you desire in cakes and candies. Having spent a great deal of time in domiat with my sisters in law making cookies for the feast, I consider myself a bit of an expert on sweets. When you add coconut to basbousa (translated literally to "he kisses the kiss" because it is so sweet), it becomes Basseema....my absolutely favorite Egyptian dessert, except maybe Om Ali.
Domiat should be a stop on tours because it is a national treasure for its expertise in sweets, incredible furniture and textiles.
Anyway coconut added turns basbousa into Basseema .
Amira
Marth, you have no idea how long I have been debating with my friends that basbousa should not have coconut in it ( my dad is from Domiat as well). I've made it both ways and they all agreed that the one with coconut is more delicious than the one without... so I guess people of Domiat have their own taste plus baseema has waaay too much coconut than just a half cup.... here is the baseema recipe from my aunties.. I totally agree with you that Domiat is a very productive governorate and everyone there is working since they are little kids.
Winnie
Amira, this truly is a five-star recipe and a staple in our family. I've made it countless times. I've used a pan 10 inches by 11 inches. This size can accommodate the recipe easily or if you prefer thicker basboosa then just double the recipe and use the same size pan. I've used fat-free yoghurt and sometimes vanilla yoghurt, both work well. I generally use coarse coconut (personal preference). This is such a well loved recipe and super easy, that I've made gift containers of the dry ingredients to share with friends along with a print-out of the recipe. Thanks for your excellent recipe, it is much better than buying from a store.
Amira
Winnie, thank you so much for such a detailed feedback. It is always a pleasure to see other try and vary a recipe according to their liking. I am so happy you liked it and the idea of the dry mix gifts is seriously innovative.
Lashauna Smedley
This recipe really made my husband's night! He's also Egyptian and requested basbousa for our iftar (the meal we eat to break fast during Ramadan). We ate a lot of it our last trip, and he was craving it again. He was so impressed with it! He said it tastes just like home - which is a high compliment for Egyptian men because no one cooks like mom.
I only made two adjustments - I used the "basbousa coconut" which is ground a lot like the farina, and I saved the syrup for the side instead of baking it in. My husband is funny about his sweets - he likes things sweet but not too sweet, so I usually let him add as much (or as little) syrup as he likes.
Amira
This is awesome, Lashauna. I do not bake basbousa with the syrup on from the beginning, I bake basbousa then pour syrup on, cover it and return it to a turned off oven for like 10-15 minutes to rest and soak up all the syrup. You can do half the syrup and serve the rest aside if he wants to add more. One of my kids like to heat up his piece in the microwave and top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream... soooo delicious.
Naglaa Mansour
Amira, just wanted to tell you that you've made a mother's wish come true :). I've made this for my mother, she has been craving good basbousa that she used to have back home and never managed to get it right. I've made your recipe as a surprise first day in Ramadan and she was so happy. Thank you so much for a great recipe.
Amira
Oh Naglaa, you have no idea how your comment is making me happy. I am so glad that your mom loved it.
Lou
I lost count of how many times I've made this recipe. My whole family loves it and it is so easy to make. Sometimes I use the fine semolina and sometimes the coarse one, depending on what I have in my pantry comes out very delicious every time. Thanks.
Amira
That’s so fantastic Lou, I’m so glad you’re enjoying it ❤️
Sommer
Where can I buy a pan like this? Could you recommend one? Thank you 🙂
Amira
Sommer, can you please check this link, you can locate a rounded aluminum pan toward the bottom of the post. Also if you could check the International markets near you especially before Ramadan and during Ramadan, you could find ones as well. Hope this will help.
Jodi Nakhla
My husband is Egyptian and he wanted so much to eat basbousa. I've tried a couple of recipes before and he just said these were fake basbousas 🙂 not the real ones. Really he enjoyed this one, we all enjoyed it so much and he even said this is better than their neighborhood bakery shop in Egypt. Thank you so much for sharing such a wonderful recipe.
Amira
So glad you enjoyed this Jodi! I am happy that your husband is pleased as well . Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it
Lila
Hi Amira, I would love to try your recipe. Would it be possible to update the recipe to include the ingredients by grams as well?
Amira
Lila, thank you for reaching out. I will def. honor your request and make it in grams as well. Thanks you.
Kristin Davis
Amira, I can't begin to tell you how amazing your recipe is. I made it thrice in the last 2 months and every time it was a huge success. My family and friends absolutely LOVED it!!!!!! I followed the recipe to a T and it came out perfectly. Thank you so much.
Amira
Kristin, you made my day :). Thank you so much for the feedback and for rating the recipe. So happy that you liked it
Joy Salem
Tried couple of other Basbousa recipes but my husband says this one is by far a bakery style just as he remembers it. I made it in a 13x9 pan instead and used hazelnuts(my husband's preference)and it turned out delicious. Thank you love your site my go to for middle eastern recipes.
Amira
Oh, I am so happy your husband approved this one :). Thank you so much for trying the recipe.
Aya Nour
My whole family was skeptical when I told them I was finally gonna make basbousa, my mom tried making it many times before and she was not satisfied. Now she is, everyone was happy and couldn’t believe the taste. Thank you so much for such a great recipe.
Amira
Aya, thank you so much for trying this recipe. I’ve been experimenting with basbousa too for a long time until I settled on this one. Happy that you all liked it.
Joy Chris
This is it guys, look no more for the perfect basbousa. I tried tens of other Basbousa recipes but I have to say this one is perfection.
Amira
Joy, I am so happy you liked this recipe.Thanks for the feedback.
Aya
I didn't try it yet but I have this feeling it's gonna be so nice. I just have a question. what is farina? is it different from semolina flour ?
Amira
Aya, I hope you will try it out and let me know how it went. Here in the US, I've found that Farina is what we call in the Middle East coarse semolina or if you can read Arabic " سميد خشن" and Semolina on what is known in the Middle East as fine semolina or " سميد ناعم". I hope this clarifies the confusion. Please reach out if you have any more questions.
Aya
Yeah, it clarifies it now. Thank you so much! So I should find سميد خشن or farina. I shouldn’t use the fine Semolina for basbousa recipe. I’ll make it for my friends. I hope they’ll like it. Thank you again!
Amira
I'm glad this helped. Please do come back and tell me how it went with you.
Sarah G
I've always wanted to make basbousa and I'm SO in love with how this turned out! I grew up with basbousa and used to beg my aunt to make it for me. This recipe tastes just like my childhood - I can't recommend it enough! Will definitely be saving this and trying new recipes from this blog! Thank you Amira!
Amira
Thank you Sarah for trying this out, I am super excited that you've liked it.
Sylwia
Hello Amira
Thanks for all wonderful recipes.
I was making few times some basbousa what recipe was here but ...it disappeared:( Instead of it appeared other recipe and other pictures in its place. Could you send to me an old one recipe? We loved it,but bcs I thought it will be here always I didn't save it and now I feel lost ...
Greetings
Sylwia
Amira
Sylwia, They are both the same, almost. This one is more enhanced and I got rave reviews about it. Many people said it is the closer to what we get from street vendors in Egypt, I highly recommend that you try it. But anyways, here are the ingredients of the old post, I hope you'll enjoy it and try the new one as well.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups Farina.
1 cup sugar.
3/4 cup finely shredded coconut flakes.
1 cup plain yogurt.
1/2 cup unsalted butter.
1/2 Tablespoon baking powder.
1/2 Tablespoon baking soda.
A dash of vanilla powder.
For the syrup: the same as above.
I hope this will help and thanks for trying the recipe.
Lisa
I also missed the old recipe and didn’t save it bc I would just revisit your site. Thank you for re-posting it. It is my favorite. 🙂
Amira
Lisa, I always try to revisit my old recipes and refine them upon feedback I get from family and friends. If there is any recipe that you like and I updated it please do not hesitate to leave a comment asking for the old one , I always have old backups .
Rehab
Excellent! I lost count of how many online basboosa recipes I tried and this is by far the best one. The only change I made is using vanilla powder instead of the extract. Definitely this is a keeper. Thank you.
Amira
Rehab, thanks for trying this recipe and I am so glad you liked it . You are right there are hundreds of recipes out there and I will keep on refining .
Naema
Hi Amira! This was one of my favorite treats growing up 🙂 unfortunately I can no longer tolerate gluten. Have you ever tried this recipe with another grain?
Amira
Naema, unfortunately I haven’t made it with any other grain before. Some people use grits others use creamy buckwheat and they say it depends on the recipe. I do not know how will these grains be like in basbousa. Maybe you can try in small amounts and see if it will work.
Marc Pearsall
I cant wait to make this cake. I love semolina cake and this one looks perfect!
Amira
Marc, Thank you for your sweet comment. It is still hard to reach the same texture of the basbousa that is sold in every corner in Egypt, but I will not give up and still trying, wish me luck :). But I promise you are gonna like this one. I have several semolina recipes in the blog, actually semolina is very popular in the Middle East and in the Moroccan cuisine in particular. Stay tuned for more semolina recipes to come.
Arshi
I want to know about texture of basbousa, is it harden top sufece or soft..I have never eaten...this dessert is not common in india....plzzzz rply
Amira
Arshi, thanks for asking.. basbousa is really soft and not hard at all. I hope that helps.
Balvinder
Oh, so this is basbousa. amira, this does look so delicious and the yogurt adds so much moisture to the cake 🙂 I do like to use buttermilk and yogurt in my cakes because gluten free flours tend to make baked goods very dry. This is a wonderful recipe and I am sure bookmarking this to try this summer 🙂
Amira
Balvinder, Thank you, and you are 100% right , yogurt really tends to moisten cakes. I hope you try it and tell me what do you think.
Dale
I see your package says farina but the it calls for semolina. I have cream of wheat and farina in the pantry. is it the same thing?
Amira
Dale, thanks for stopping by and taking the time to ask. We refer - in the Arab world- to Farina by the term Semolina flour and I've seen it here in the US in Sprouts market by the name Farina cereal. So I think you go ahead and use the farina you have for this recipe. Sorry for the confusion.
Rajib Abdur Aazzaque
"My mom is going to make this delicious recipe now!!!!Thanks!!!
Imam
WONDERFUL! Very simple!
Madeleine
Hi Amira I recall that h
Harissa in Egypt had no coconut it was made totally of semolina, do you think you would be able to get the recipe. Dad used to bring it home in the morning after he worked late and. it. Was lovely and warm. I searched everywhere but every recipe has coconut. Yet the one he brought home had no coconut. Please help if you can.
Amira
Madeleine,
Thanks for stopping by. I've never liked homemade basbousa - in the past- due to the fact that it had coconut in it :). I liked the one that we buy from desserts shops better. I've tried making this with no coconuts before because one of my guests had coconut allergy. I just increased the semolina little may be 1/4 c, I liked it better than the one with coconut, but to my surprise almost ALL of my guests liked the coconut one more!!! they even asked me for coconut flakes to sprinkle on top of the non-coconut semolina :-/. Since then I did not make the non-coconut version. Currently I'm trying to develop another recipe and I hope I'll get to the bottom of it, so until then wait for me .. as I really hope to get one that is what is sold in Egypt.
miso
This is the best recipe have ever tried for Basbusa, thank you so much.
Umm Halil
Assalamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatu Sister,
Taqqabal Allahu Mina wa minkum - Eid Mubarak!
Jazak Allahu khayran for this recipe - my kids and I have been learning about How Muslims celebrate Ramadan and Eid around the world. We were looking for a recipe of traditional dish made in one if the countries we were studying and came across your recipe. We have since made it twice for Eid and it is super easy to prepare. We love the taste and have shared it with our family also.
Thank you once again.
Take care
Wassalam alaykum
Umm Halil
Virginia Dunn
I had Egyptian Basbousa a few times with a lady I knew from there and it was wonderful beyond words but have never found a recipe that tasted like hers... But yours was the perfect one just like hers... and I am sooo happy to be able to make and be sooo happy with the results... I love Middle Eastern recipes and have enjoyed learning how to cook the food!! Thanks soo much with sharing your recipe.
Amira
Thank you for giving me the honor and trying my recipe ... I'm glad you liked it :). Stick around for more Middle Eastern recipes.
saema
i love this recipe! I am so glad to have finally found a basbousa recipe I love. I wanted to know what I could do to improve it though. my basbousa (while delicious!) crumbles too quickly. I may test it too quickly after it come out of the oven but do you have any other tips?
Amira
I've heard - but did not do it until now- that adding from 1-2 Tbsp of white flour to the mixture prevents crumbling. So may be you should start by one and see. Thanks for your sweet comment I'm glad you liked it.
Lana
Hi arabianmama!
I tried your basbousa recipe (first time making it) and for me personally, it was *almost* perfect- next time, I will do without the vanilla essence because although the cake was still nice, I felt it overpowered the flavour. Without it, I think it will become perfect, i.e. exactly how I remember basbousa from my childhood 🙂
Anyway thanks for sharing!
Amira
No problem Lana may be because I love vanilla so much that I cannot ever feel it is too much :). As I said the secret behind making basbousa is still a secret and nobody ever revealed it but we are trying our best to imitate what the real basbousa makers are doing. I'll try to be friend with one next time I visit Egypt to get the secret hahaha. Let us know when you make it next time. Thanks for trying the recipe and for sharing your experience with us. I am really honored.
Klaudia
It is THE BEST recipe, I tried more than a handful version, but this one is the lightest most amazing one ever. THANK YOU for this recipe!!!!
Amira
Hi Klaudia,
I'm happy that you liked the recipe. Thank you for trying it:)
Antonine M
Thank you for a wonderful source for delicious Middle Eastern cooking. I made your Basbousa for a little dinner party with a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern menu, and it was a big hit. The only thing I did differently was to add a bit of orange blossom water (which I had been dying to try in something) into the syrup for the cake. It was so good! I kept thinking how much my dad would have enjoyed that cake - funny how even 24 years after his passing I still love to cook things that would please him. Thank you for your inspiration!
Amira
I like your comment so much ,you really made my day, although I was so sad near the end. May he RIP. For the syrup some people like also to add rose water too, if you like it you may wanna try it someday.
rowena
Hi,
This sounds lovely! and am hoping to make it with my son for his 'Egyptian food' homework, however I'm having some trouble converting the cups to grams/ounces! Please could you help? Are they metric or US cups? Many many thanks 🙂
rowena
monica
I also would like to know, thank you.
Amira
The recipe above is in both US cups and grams. Hope this helps.
Naglaa
I was looking for a dish to make for 'Egypt day' at my daughters' class, something that would be a sweet treat, simple to make, easy for toddlers to be able to eat, but also mindful of common food allergies. This basbousa recipe was perfect! I did 2 variations: added some rose water to the syrup, and left out the nuts (school policy). The kids and teachers loved it, and it got my Mom's smile of approval when she tasted it.
I just made it again for dessert for iftar with my husband's family, served warm alongside cold 'khoshaf' (a kind of dried-fruit salad of prunes, apricots and nuts in a light syrup), and everyone was delighted.
I have a question about the syrup, where you say to combine while both are hot - when my Mom makes anything like this with syrup (basbousa or konafa) she would usually make the syrup a little ahead of time to let it cool, even putting it in the fridge, and add the cool syrup to the hot basbousa/konafa right when it comes out of the oven. She thinks that makes the syrup distribute differently in the cake. I've tried both ways and can't really tell a difference (both taste yummy to me), and was wondering what you think?
Thanks for the great recipes!
best regards,
Naglaa
Amira
You cannot imagine how happy I am that you really liked the recipe. I've made it last year in my kid's school too - without the nuts- and they all loooooved it. About your question, for most cases we cool the syrup first but for basbousa and the like, it is better to add the hot syrup while the basbousa is hot too as it helps improve the texture so it won't be crunchy and it won't crumble. I hope this answers your question and thanks again for stopping by.
monem
Lovely, this looks fab! cant wait to make this for my eid celebration at the weekend!
Anita
Happened to stumble upon your recipe, just made it now..It's amazing, exactly the way I wanted it to be. thanks a million, am your fan forever 🙂
Amira
Anita, Thanks for your sweet words I'm happy that you like the recipe although the real secret is not revealed until now 🙂 It is still a mystery, but we still like it this way too. I'm honored to have a fan like you.
Liz
I love how this cake is named after a term of endearment...it looks so moist and delicious! The syrup is a fantastic addtition!
Amira
Oh Liz, How did you know that? 🙂 ... I wanted to mention it but I forgot ;-).
Denise Browning@From Brazil To You
Amira: Thanks so much for sharing this wonderful basbousa recipe. I loooove semolina cake but I have never found a great recipe -- well now I did. I am as happy as someone can be.
Amira
And I am happy that you love semolina too 🙂 I hope you will give this a try and tell me what do you think. I will be posting some great Arabian semolina recipes soon as the Arabian kitchen is full of such nice recipes. Thanks for stopping by.
Shady
One of the most famous and delicious deserts in Egypt, everyone loves it. Some people eat with a lot of syrup and some with less syrup like me:) Kids love it too!
Thank you!
Amira
Thanks dear for your sweet comment
Merriam
Hi ameera I am new to your amazing recipes about ferina shall I buy the grinder one or grainy ones? Please help
Amira
Hello Marriam, thank you so much for your sweet comment. Some people use the finely grinned one and some use the coarse. For this recipe I like using the coarse on or what is known in the Middle Ease by سميد خشنif you can read Arabic :).
alexander siha
helo amira,im a old man ,living in san diego ca,where can i buy the basbousa that you described with ghee,can you help 6192474024 or alexsiha@yandex.com.i left cairo 57 years ago ,but never forget that tast of real egyptian basbousa,thank you.
Amira
Alexander, Egyptian Basbousa is the best ..isn't it. Anyways, unfortunately, I am not catering but this recipe is super easy to make and does not require any special baking skills at all. I highly recommend that you try it out.