READY IN 1 hr

Basboosa II

Read Reviews (14)

"This is a traditional Middle Eastern dessert made of semolina flour, yogurt, and coconut. To adjust the sweetness, you can half or double the amount of sugar in the lemon syrup." — Felicia Manocchio

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix together the semolina flour, baking powder, 1 cup sugar, coconut and butter. Add the yogurt and milk; mix until moistened but not runny or liquid. If you see that it is too dry, add more milk. Spread into a greased 8 inch square baking dish, smoothing the top as much as possible. Decorate the top with whole almonds.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. While the basboosa is baking, combine the water, 1 cup of sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for at least 5 minutes.
When the basboosa has finished baking, pour the syrup over it as evenly as possible. Place it back in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until the syrup has been fully absorbed. Let rest for about 20 minutes before cutting into pieces and serving.

Kitchen-Friendly View

PREP 15 mins
COOK 45 mins
READY IN 1 hr

Reviews More Reviews

Most Helpful Positive Review

Mar 25, 2007

Make this fab dessert even healthier by using NON-FAT plain yogurt and substituting the 2 cups total white sugar used (in the cake and the syrup) with 1 cup sugar, 1 cup sugar substitute. I also use a fresh squeezed lemon--all of it, instead of the 1 tablespoon in recipe. It gives more boost to the flavor and makes it sing! Try covering the entire dish with sliced almonds instead of whole ones--you get an ever better toasted almond flavor. And for my last substitute, use Cream of Wheat instead of semolina! Not everyone has semolina flour on hand, but most people have Cream of Wheat! The larger the baking dish you use, as well, the faster the cake will cook. I usually double the recipe and spread it into a 8 x 11.5 glass dish for quick baking. For special occasions and for the sake of presentation, bake in a beautiful oven proof pottery dish like a quich dish or fancy pie dish. Or any shallow pottery piece is fine. It is beautiful when placed on the table!

—Jo Anna

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Most Helpful Critical Review

Aug 05, 2011

Beware! The recipe doesn't specify but someone's suggestion of using #2 semolina or it will not absorb the syrup is true. All I found was #1 and it turned out dense, in spite of using a 9.5 inch pan. I think this would have made all the difference in the world. I made cuts both before and after baking and the syrup only penetrated these cuts leaving most of my basboosa dense and dry. I guess now I have semolina to try to making handmade pasta...lol. That said, the flavor of coconut and the lemon juice in the syrup stood out. I think it would have been good. I followed the recipe exactly except for adding 1 tsp almond extract which gives it a nice flavor!

—BatikWindmillTurban

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17 Ratings

Feb 10, 2009

This is a great recipe (sometimes also called Hareesa)and very much like what my Egyptian mother makes. Unfortunately Mom makes all these wonderful recipes but she can't give you exact measurements-she does it all by sight. I do have some recommendations: Buy the medium semolina (sometimes called #2) because the fine semolina makes it difficult for the syrup to absorb throughout the whole basboosa. Also, at the end of the baking time, turn the broiler on for 2-3 minutes to give the top a golden brown color. Last, make sure to double the syrup ingredients. Boil the syrup for 5 minutes then simmer for about 10 minutes.

—Hanan

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Nov 10, 2008

this was easy and turned out great. i cut the basboosa into squares before baking and then went over those again after baking to let the syrup distribute nicely. i also added rosewater to the syrup. this tasted really good because of the coconut. i will use this recipe again.

—Hot Mama

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Dec 21, 2008

I have tried many times to get a proper recipe for this desert which mom used to make for us as kids. This is as good as it gets and I made it repeatedly for my little family. Ditto with the rose water added to the syrup/mixture or both if u want.

—SUFFY_78

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Sep 27, 2007

Delicious, my only recommendations are to add a whole lemon's juice to the syrup part and before you pour on the syrup....poke some holes in the cake so that the syrup can reach the bottom layer. I couldn't figure out why mine was absorbing all of the syrup- I'll know for next time.

—TRADY'S LADY

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Jun 21, 2010

I know that rose water is a must-have for arabic deserts. But i personally don't prefer it and that is why I chose to leave it out of the recipe. I guess I should have added it as an optional thing in the recipe. Glad you all like it. Felicia

—Felicia Manocchio

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Sep 01, 2011

5 star, but slight changes... make sure to use the #2 semolina flour. Next only use 3/4 cup sugar in batter. In the syrup, I used rose flavoring. Plus I only used 3/4cup water and 1/2 cup sugar to make syrup. I decorated it with sliced almonds which I already had on hand.And after pouring the syrup on, I broiled it in the oven for around 5 minute. When cooking in oven pay attention. Cooks faster than you think. Lowered my oven temp to 335-340. Everyone loved it and I never made it before, so good luck.

—RAHIMA

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Nutrition

Calories
432 kcal
22%

Carbohydrates
78.9 g
25%

Cholesterol
16 mg
5%

Fat
10.4 g
16%

Fiber
2.7 g
11%

Protein
7.5 g
15%

Sodium
95 mg
4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

Nutritional Information

Basboosa II

Serving Size: 1/9 of a recipe
Servings Per Recipe: 9
Amount Per Serving
** Calories: 432
** Calories from Fat: 93

% Daily Value *
** Total Fat 10.4g 16 %
** Saturated Fat 6g 30 %
** Cholesterol 16mg 5 %
** Sodium 95mg 4 %
** Potassium 206mg 6 %
** Total Carbohydrates 78.9g 25 %
** Dietary Fiber 2.7g 11 %
** Protein 7.5g 15 %
** Sugars 50.6g
** Vitamin A 4 %
** Vitamin C 2 %
** Calcium 11 %
** Iron 20 %
** Thiamin 33 %
** Niacin 29 %
** Vitamin B6 4 %
** Magnesium 14 %
** Folate 41 %

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.
(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.