B for Basbousa I How to make Basbousa - Day 2

Basbousa is a traditional Semolina cake from Egypt. It's an easy no fuss cake soaked in a lightly flavored syrup. One bite and you are in cake heaven! 

B FOR BASBOUSA - EGYPT

Its a light cake, not too sweet, and tastes even better when chilled. 

Semolina cakes are popular in many parts of the world and there are several versions to this cake. I chose to make an Orange-cardamom flavored syrup to soak the cake in. 

You will need: 

Makes:One 8-inch round cake

Recipe adapted from here:

5 tbsp unsalted Butter

1/2 cup Sugar (White, granulated) 

1/2 cup plain yoghurt

1/2 cup Fine Semolina

1/2 cup Coarse Semolina

2 tbsp Milk

1/2 tsp Baking powder

Chopped almonds 

Orange-Cardamom syrup:

3/4 cup sugar 

3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp water 

Few drops orange extract 

2 pods cardamom, crushed to open 

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8-inch round pan. 

Melt butter in the microwave and set aside. 

In a medium bowl which together the sugar and yoghurt until sugar is dissolved. Add the 2 types of semolina, baking powder and milk. Whisk to combine. Add the melted butter and allow the batter to rest for 2-3 minute until the butter is absorbed. 

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. Prepare the syrup 15 minutes into the baking time. 

Combine sugar and water in a medium pan with the cardamom pods and bring to a rolling boil. Add few drops of orange extract and turn off heat. Discard cardamom pods and reserve syrup. 

The cake is done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean. The cake will be white when done. 

Before you take it out of the oven, turn on the oven broiler to high and place cake underneath it only for a minute or two. Keep a watchful eye because the top can burn very quickly. You want a nice golden brown on the top. 

Remove from oven and place pan on a cooling rack. Pour the hot syrup onto the cake while it's still hot. Allow to sit for at least an hour or more before slicing. Top with chopped almonds before slicing and serving. 

This cake can be served at room temperature or chilled.


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Eggless Chocolate Cake

I’ve done it! I’ve finally baked an Eggless Cake. It is an achievement for me because in my terms a cake without eggs cannot taste good nor can it be moist and fluffy. Well this one proved me wrong.

From the time I’ve been baking and posting recipes here for cakes, I’ve had so many people ask me, including friends and relatives, for a tried recipe for an Eggless cake. Since I had never baked an eggless cake, I had no recipes to offer them. Using eggs was never an issue at mom’s place nor here, and though mom and dad both don’t eat eggs in its original form, they don’t mind cakes with egg in it. Mom has been giving baking classes for ages and she never had to think about baking an eggless cake. So even my mom is in the enquirers list for an eggless cake recipe…hehe

I have been looking online and have come across so many recipes for eggless cakes. The trouble is which one to try. One says only flour, butter and milk while the other says “eggless,butterless,milkless”!! After much browsing and reading scores of recipes, I decided to try this one. It was on a forum on some site. Whoever that person is, thanks to them as this cake turned out great!

The recipe was good by itself, it needed little more liquid than mentioned. I changed that and it was perfect.

You will need:

1 2/3 cups All purpose Flour

1 cup Sugar

¾ cup Cocoa powder

1 tsp Baking powder

1 tsp Salt

1 1/3 cup Buttermilk

½ cup melted Butter

1 ½ tsp Vanilla

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease and flour a 13 x 9 baking pan.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add salt and sugar. Combine and then add the melted butter, vanilla and buttermilk. Beat till smooth.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Spread evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 25-30 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then cut into pieces and serve.

The texture of the cake was dense,yet moist. It did taste different from a regular chocolate cake with eggs in it, but this was good for an eggless one.

This cake tastes great when it is slightly warm. So dig in before it cools completely!

Now my quest begins for a non-chocolate eggless cake .......