Ingredients
Method
Step 1. Prepare the syrup
- In a small saucepan, combine the sugar, water, and lemon juice. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 6–7 minutes until the syrup slightly thickens. Remove from heat, add rosewater or orange blossom water if desired, and let it cool completely.
Step 2. Mix the cake batter
- In a large bowl, combine the semolina, yogurt, cooking oil, milk, coconut, eggs, sugar, baking powder, and your choice of lemon zest or vanilla. Mix by hand until well combined. Do not overmix.
Step 3. Bake and add syrup
- Pour the batter into a greased Pyrex dish 33 x 23 cm (13 x 9 inches) Pyrex dish and bake in a preheated oven at 180°C (350°F) for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Once baked, pour the cooled Attir syrup evenly over the hot cake. Let it soak for at least 15 minutes before serving.
6 Responses
Looks lovely, will it.
It’s such an easy dessert to make!
I made this recipe today and it turned out wonderful. I was confused because I saw many recipes use coarse semolina for basboussa and wasn’t sure what type was needed here. To clarify it’s fine semolina – and that’s what I used.
You can easily make it in one bowl but I separated my dry and wet ingredients (breaking up the eggs in my liquid ingredients before adding it to the dry), that way I wouldn’t overmix. I omitted the vanilla and added orange blossom water to both the batter and the syrup. The only mistake I made was I baked it in too small of a dish. This meant it took longer to bake (40-45 minutes but it did not get burnt), and the syrup didn’t really go all the way through the cake (because it was so tall lol). Minor issues that did not impact the final product or flavour at all. This tastes like my MILs basboussa (Egypt) and I highly recommend it. I will be making it again 🙂
I loved reading this—it’s exactly what cooking is all about, right? Making it work for you, tweaking as you go, and learning what suits your kitchen best. I’ve done the same—used smaller dishes or different bowls—and sometimes those little “mistakes” actually teach us the most. The fact that the flavour reminded you of your MIL’s basboussa makes me so happy… that’s the real win. Can’t wait for you to make it again 💛
Great recipes! Love watching the videos too.
I have a question. Is the coconut used the dry sweetened ones or the fresh grated ones?
I use the dry desiccated coconut off the shelf