My experiments and use of Semolina in baking are on. Having baked breads with semolina, it is now cakes. Semolina gives lovely textures to cakes too. The Semolina coconut cake or Basbousa that was baked last week had a soft crumb and great texture. Drenched in sweet syrup, this cake is very easy to make.
Basbousa or Basboosa
(Arabic), revani (Turkish) or ravani (Greek) is a sweet cake made of semolina
soaked in simple syrup. Coconut is a popular addition. The syrup may also
optionally contain orange flower water or rose water. It
is found in the cuisines of the eastern Mediterranean under a variety of names.
It appears to be a variant of the Egyptian dishma'mounia. Basbousa is very common is Arabia. (Source-
Wikipedia and Cookipedia)
This is a very versatile cake. One can try out different
combinations. I have baked semolina cake with all the variations and the result
has always been great. I have beaked this cake with yogurt instead of milk and
olive oil instead of butter. I have also
used 2 tablespoons of honey in place of rose water.
It is very important to prepare syrup and cool before the
cake is ready. Pour cold syrup over hot cake.
This is how I made Semolina Coconut cake
Semolina
Coconut Cake (Egg less)
Ingredients
Syrup
1cup sugar
½ cup water
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon rosewater
Cake
2 cups fine Semolina
1 cup desiccated coconut
½ cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 ½ cups milk
2 teaspoons baking powder
10-12 almonds halved
Method
Syrup
Take water, sugar and lemon juice in a thick bottomed
pan. Bring it to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes.
Turn off the heat and add rose water. Cool it to room
temperature.
Cake
Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Grease and line a 7 inch x
7 inch rectangular cake pan.
Cream butter and sugar. Whisk together semolina and
baking powder.
Add semolina mix to butter sugar mixture. Add milk and
stir. Fold in desiccated coconut.
Pour the batter in the prepared pan and level it with a
spoon. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
Score the batter into 1 inch square with a sharp knife.
Place one almond half in each square.
Bake for 30 minutes or until the top and sides are golden
brown.
Remove from the oven. Remove from the pan after 10
minutes.
Cut the cake along the lines you scored. Pour cold syrup
onto the hot cake. Let the cake sit for two hours before serving.
I decided that I wasn't going to make Christmas cake this year as Steve doesn't like it and I would just eat it all myself and so that left a gap in the sweet section that this lovely cake will fill incredibly well. It leaves itself open to many different ways to customise it...adding orange or lemon (or any other citrus) zest and poppyseeds, using sesame seed to dust the top of the cake before baking and tahini instead of butter, changing the rosewater to orange blossom water, using black sesame seeds in the batter, adding green tea powder and dotting the top with pistachio nuts before baking SO many ways to make this lovely eggless cake mine and all I have to do to make it vegan is sub sesame (or other non-dairy) milk for regular milk and oil, nut or seed butter, or coconut oil for the butter. SUCH a good recipe. Thankyou so much for sharing Namita :)
ReplyDeleteWell baked namita...bookmarked....
ReplyDeleteYummy and inviting cake
ReplyDeleteLooks great will surely try it :)
ReplyDeleteGreat recipe! I only had a few of the ingredients, so I totally butchered it, and it still worked! I substituted with soy milk and oil, added vanilla essence and diced apple (!)
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting my blog and trying out the recipes. Adding diced apples is a great idea. Will remember that when I bake it next.
DeleteIs it sweet enough to make without the syrup?
ReplyDeleteHello Sk, Syrup makes the cake sweet and soft too. Semolina grains drink water and swell up. This makes the cake juicy. However, without syrup it will be a little dry.
DeleteCan we make it in microwave?
ReplyDeleteHello! I have never tried baking in microwave. But I guess you can in convection mode.
DeleteHi, came across the interesting recipes on your blog. Wanted to know ,for this cake we use fresh coconut or khopra
ReplyDeleteHello Navita, I used desiccated coconut. It is dry coconut finely shredded commonly available in the stores. Happy Baking Navita!
DeleteHi,can I use a round 7*3 pan instead of rectangular one ?thanks
ReplyDeleteHello! I think 7x3 pan would be small. The batter wil not be able to rise well. I would suggest that you go for a bigger pan. 9x5 inch pan would work fine here.
DeleteHello! Thanks for your prompt reply . However , since I don't have a 9*5 pan can I try this recipe with 140 ml cup( since the recipe is in cups and 1 cup is 240 ml ) ? Also I think baking powder should be reduced to 1 teaspoon in that case . What do you suggest ? Thanks
DeleteHello, 1 cup is 240ml, in this recipe i have taken two cups semolina. If you want to halve the ingredients, then use 1 cup semolina(240 ml cup) and 1 tsp baking powder. Rest of the ingredients can be halved too.
DeleteIts a fantastic recipe, tried and everyone loved it!!!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the recipe!
Minal worlikar
Hi Minal, I am so happy that you visited my blog, tried my recipe and liked it. Hope you try many more.
DeleteSemolina Coconut Cake (Egg less)
ReplyDeleteIngredients
HAs Anyone tried to make this vegan? Please tell how it came out or how to do it! I am dying for a slice now!
HI Namita. Great recipe. Can you please give substitutions for sugar in the sugar syrup and in the cake> Can we use jaggery or dates or honey?
ReplyDeleteHello Priya, Jaggery would be great to add in the batter. For syrup, honey diluted with water and rose water would work fine. Happy Baking!
DeleteHello Binu, with syrup, the cake will be moist. It should be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days.
ReplyDeleteHi I tried this and it turned out really well
ReplyDeleteI baked it in pressure cooker.. and I even added 1 tablespoon of baking soda to the batter.. I had missed to set aside the batter for 10mins but still the outcome was good.. as I had no rose water I used rose essence and it enhanced the flavour..
My syrup got little thick by the time I had to pour it on cake but overall it was just perfect 😊
Hi Namita, i love your recipes and am constantly inspired to try them. i dont have a rectangular baking tin, only 6 inch, 8 inch and 9 inch round pans. can i use any of them?
ReplyDeleteHello! You can definitely bake this cake in a round cake pan. I think 9 inch pan would work well here. Thank you so much for the kind words. Happy Baking!
DeleteI love the look of this cake, but I'm gluten intolerant. Could I use polenta instead of semolina, do you think?
ReplyDeleteCan i dry roast the coconut gratings i have at home, get it to room temp, and add..i dont get dessicated coconut in my place that easily
ReplyDeleteYes Sasi, you may try using coconut shavings. But you might not get the same texture and taste.Desiccated coconut mixes well with the batter. And lends the coconutty taste.
ReplyDeleteHi Namita, I love your blog and your recipes. Really enjoy reading about your life in the hills!! Would love to experience it for myself.
ReplyDeleteI had a question - how much yogurt to use instead of the milk and how much oil instead of butter ?
Thank you for your kind words :) take the same amount of oil as butter. If you want to avoid milk, try coconut milk. or, take the same amount of buttermilk.
DeleteHappy Baking!