13 Reviews of Basbousa(بسبوسة)

From: Mirj

On Nov 26, 2001

This is an excellent version of one of my favorite local desserts. I made this with orange juice instead of lemon, and it was delicious! This is not a cake typical to American palates, but I highly suggest everyone try this at least once!

From: Daydream

On Aug 29, 2003

Thank you Najwa for a delicious and unusual cake recipe. I enjoyed the slightly chewy texture imparted by the semolina, and the sticky, moistness, provided by the syrup. My only complaint is that my family finished it off before I had a chance to have a second slice! Next time I will do as Mirj did, and make the syrup with orange juice.

From: TommyGato

On Aug 20, 2003

I bought some semolina to try this and am glad I did. It is really much better the day after it's baked since the lemon flavored syrup will be completely absorbed. Eating a few hours after it was baked was like having overly sweet cornbread. But on the following day it was great! The texture was more like a very moist cake and the flavor developed nicely.

From: Faten

On Dec 17, 2006

To answer BostonEgypt question on how to make basbousa less cake like is to omit the butter milk and the baking powder. i will post my recipe soon but I use 3 cups of semolina and the same amount of unsalted butter and mix them together with the same amount of sugar. Add in a differant bowl I will mix 1 cup of plain yogurt and the same amount of baking soda until it almost doubles in size. then I will mix the two mixtures together and press down in a small jellyroll pan and bake at 375 or 400 (depending on your oven) until the its a dark golden brown. Then pour on the cold syrup on the basbousa. Oh and in our family or culture basbousa is made with coconut and this recipe is called Harissa. Maybe its just a Palestinian thing. Hope this helps.

From: Zaugatmisr

On Aug 7, 2005

This recipe received the highest kudos - my Egyptian mother-in-law LOVED it, as did my hubby and all the parents at my son's soccer camp. I plan to make it as often as I can, though I have to give it away since it's so rich. Shukran Gazeelan! Thank you SO much. Ma'a salaama, Nancy

From: BostonNEgypt

On Feb 5, 2006

I just moved back to the states after six months in Egypt. I love basbousa and was excited to make many Egyptian/Middle Eastern dishes for my friends. They all fell in love with this one, and I liked it. But I was a little disappointed at how cakey it was. Does anyone have any suggestions for making it more dense, syrupy, and sticky and less like sweet cornbread? Otherwise very good, great flavor!!!

From: Najla

On Oct 24, 2001

From: Karen Elizabeth

On Jul 14, 2008

I made this as the dessert for a dinner party, and it was very well received, sweet but not too sweet with a great texture. For the dinner I served it with icecream, but DH asked me to make custard when he had some the next day, (we'd eaten a LOT that night which is the only reason it hadn't been finished off!) and he liked it better that way. it was very easy to make and I ws very pleased with the result. Thanks for a great recipe :D

From: austinfoodie

On Oct 4, 2005

I crave this dessert...I have friends that crave this dessert. It is amazing. Simple. Sugary sweet. Just plain good. Thank you so much for posting this!

From: Umm Ishaq

On Sep 3, 2008

Delicious! A great tasting little cake, perfect with coffee. I followed the recipe exactly but added some orange blossom water to the syrup, which gave a lovely aroma. Thanks for sharing. Will be making it again!