A Middle Eastern dessert made with farina and simple syrup, so simple and easy to make, and my husband’s favorite. In his opinion, it beats knafeh. Of course, I disagree 😉 There are so many ways to make basbousa, but trust me when I tell you, this is the best one. Simple, basic basbousa, the way it should be made. I hope you get to try it and enjoy, and don’t forget to like and follow for more.
Ingredients
- 2 cups farina
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup plain middle eastern yogurt
- 2 tbs. Desiccated Coconut
- 1/2 tsp. Baking soda
- 1 tbs. Tahini
Simple syrup
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 cup water
- 1/4 tsp. Lemon juice
Instructions
- Start by making the simple syrup, place the sugar, 5 cups of water and 1/4 teaspoon of lemon juice in a pot bring to a boil then lower the heat to a gentle roll. Time it for 8 minutes and it’s done. Set aside to cool completely.
- In a bowl measure 2 cups of farina, sugar, oil, yogurt, coconut and 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda. Mix well by hand until the basbousa mixture comes together.
- Using a paper towel spread 1 tbs. Tahini in a 12 inch round baking tray covering the bottom and the sides. Pour the basbousa mixture in the tray spreading evenly and smoothing the top by hand.
- Cut the basbousa with a knife into diamond shapes. I like to start from the center and use it as my guide if you find it too difficult you can cut into squares. Let rest while the oven is preheating to 400F.
- Bake for 20 minutes on bottom shelf and 5 minutes on top shelf it should be golden brown.
- Once it comes out of the oven hit it with the cold syrup, I used 3 ladles make sure to cover the whole of the basbousa especially the edges.
- Top with extra coconut let cool and enjoy.
Notes
- If you want to make it more rich substitute yogurt for sour cream.