Middle Eastern Coconut Basbousa (Harissa)
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A traditional Middle Eastern semolina cake with coconut, soaked in sweet syrup and topped with cream and pistachios.
00:30:00 total
Serves 8
medium
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Ingredients
- semolina - 1.5 cups (regular semolina, 1 and 1/2 cups)
- fine semolina (chicken flour) - 1.5 cups (very fine semolina, 1 and 1/2 cups)
- coconut shreds - 3/4 cup (dried shredded coconut)
- baking powder - 1 tbsp (leavening agent)
- salt - pinch (a small pinch)
- plain yogurt - 1 cup (or sour milk)
- ashta cream - 250 grams (ready-made cream from supermarket, can substitute with cream cheese, approx 250 grams)
- eggs - 2 (large eggs)
- vanilla - 1 tsp (vanilla extract)
- ghee - 1/2 cup (or substitute with butter or vegetable oil)
- sugar - 1 cup (to be mixed with liquid ingredients)
- water - 1 cup (for syrup)
- sugar - 1.5 cups (for syrup)
- lemon juice - 1 tbsp (fresh lemon juice for syrup)
- orange blossom water - 1 tsp (optional for syrup)
- pistachios - watch the video to see (crushed, for decoration)
- ready-made cream - watch the video to see (for decoration)
Instructions
- Prepare dry ingredients: In a large bowl, combine 1 and 1/2 cups regular semolina and 1 and 1/2 cups fine semolina (chicken flour). If you have medium semolina, you can use 3 cups instead. Add 3/4 cup shredded coconut, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Mix well and set aside.
- Prepare liquid ingredients: In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup plain yogurt, 250 grams ashta cream (or cream cheese), 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1/2 cup ghee (or butter or vegetable oil), and 1 cup sugar. Stir well until sugar dissolves and the mixture is thick and homogeneous.
- Combine mixtures: Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the liquid ingredients. Mix gently until just combined and homogeneous. Avoid overmixing to keep the right texture.
- Prepare baking tray: Grease the oven tray with tahini or alternatively oil and flour. Pour the basbousa mixture into the tray and spread evenly.
- Score the mixture: Wet your hands with water to prevent sticking and smooth the surface of the mixture. Score the surface into pieces of desired size for easier cutting after baking.
- Bake: Preheat the oven to 170°C (338°F). Bake the basbousa on the middle rack for approximately 20-30 minutes. Do not open the oven during baking. When the bottom is cooked and the top starts to brown, remove from oven.
- Prepare syrup: While the basbousa bakes, prepare the syrup by boiling 1 cup water and 1 and 1/2 cups sugar in a pot. Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 7 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 teaspoon orange blossom water (optional). Remove from heat.
- Pour syrup and rest: Immediately after removing basbousa from oven, pour the hot syrup evenly over it. Let it rest at room temperature for about 1 hour and 20 minutes to absorb the syrup fully.
- Serve and decorate: Cut the basbousa along the scored lines and remove pieces from the tray. Decorate each piece with a dollop of ready-made cream and sprinkle crushed pistachios on top. Serve at room temperature.
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