Basbousa Cake with Cream (Semolina Cake)
Middle Eastern basbousa cake with cream, flavoured with orange and almond. Made with semolina, silky smooth cream filling and candied fruit.
Equipment
- 20 cm (8-inch) springform cake pan
Ingredients
Syrup
- 200 g sugar (1 cup)
- 200 g water (¾ cup)
- 1 teaspoon orange extract or ½ teaspoon orange blossom
- 1 orange peel, optional
Semolina cake
- 160 g fine semolina (1 cup)
- 50 g sugar (¼ cup)
- 20 g coconut flakes (¼ cup)
- 3 eggs, large
- 10 g baking powder (2 tsp)
- 240 g Greek yoghurt (1 cup)
- 160 ml olive oil (¾ cup)
- 1 orange zest
- ⅓ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 50 g candied fruit (¼ cup)
- 100 ml orange juice (½ cup)
Orange cream
- 500 ml milk (2 cups)
- 2 egg yolks
- 35 g corn starch (⅓ cup)
- 40 g sugar (3 tbsp)
- ½ orange zest
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- 30 g almond flakes (⅓ cup)
- ½ teaspoon mahlep powder
Instructions
Sugar syrup
- To make the syrup, combine the water and sugar and the orange peel in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then reduce and let simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and let it cool down completely. Take out the orange peels before using the syrup (they can be used for decoration).
Semolina cake with cream filling
- Preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F) fan assisted. Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and combine them well with a spatula or hand mixer.
- Line a 20 cm (8-inch) cake pan with baking paper and grease it with butter. Pour half of the mixture in the pan, then bake it for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the orange filling. Place the milk and orange zest in a saucepan and heat until the milk starts to bubble. In a small bowl combine the egg yolks and sugar, whisking until pale. Add the corn starch and mix well to incorporate without any lumps. If the mixture is too thick, loosen it up with 1-2 teaspoon of milk.
- Once the milk is hot, pour ¼ over the egg mixture, mixing well to combine. Pour the egg mixture over the remaining milk, whisking it continuously over medium heat. Keep whisking the mixture until it thickens up. Take the cream off the heat and mix in the orange extract.
- When the bottom layer of the cake has baked, pour the orange cream over it. Pour the remaining cake batter directly over the cream, ensuring it’s levelled on the top. If the remaining cake batter seems a little thick, add in 1 teaspoon of water or orange juice.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes until golden brown. If it looks like it’s browning too quickly, cover it with aluminium foil after 20 minutes.
- Once baked, pour the syrup over the cake as soon as it’s out of the oven. Cover with aluminium foil and let sit for 20-30 minutes until it’s cooled down completely.
Notes
- I recommend using a kitchen scale in grams for more accuracy. The cups used for the conversion are standard US customary cups (1 cup flour = 136g). There are many different types of cups across the globe, which is why I strongly recommend using grams instead.
- I recommend using a springform cake pan, so you can remove the cake much easier.
- Once baked, store the cake in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days. To serve, reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds until warm.
Nutrition
Calories: 371kcal
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