Basbousa with Cream (بسبوسة بالقشطة)
Basbousa with cream is a delicious Arabic dessert. Basbousa is made with a semolina flour cake, filled with a creamy coconut vanilla cream, and topped with a fragrant sweet rose water syrup. Cream filled basbousa is one of the most popular dessert recipes throughout the Middle East.
Equipment
- 9 x 9 glass baking dish
Ingredients
For the semolina cake:
- 1 cup coarse ground semolina flour
- ¼-1/2 cup raw cane sugar sub honey or date syrup
- ¼ cup finely shredded (unsweetened) coconut flakes
- 2 teaspoon baking powder aluminum free
- 3 lg eggs
- 1 cup whole milk plain greek yogurt (unsweetened)
- ¾ cup coconut oil, melted & cooled or avocado oil, olive oil for fluffier basbousa
- 1 tablespoon water for second half of cake later
For the Qashta cream filling:
- 2 cups oat milk Use toasted coconut almond milk for a stronger flavor
- ⅛ cup clotted cream Nestlé puck cream
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon raw cane sugar sub honey or date syrup
- ¼ cup corn starch
For the syrup topping:
- 1 cup raw cane sugar sub honey
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water
- ¾ cup water
Basbousa toppings:
- ⅛-1/4 cup shredded coconut
- ⅛-1/4 cup chopped pistachios
Instructions
Make basbousa cake and first layer:
- Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and adjusting the rack to the middle of the oven.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all the ingredients for the cake except for the 1 tablespoon of water.
- Mix very well to combine.
- Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 9 glass baking dish.
- Pour half the cake batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 15 minutes or just until the top is dry to the touch. While the cake bakes, make the cream filling.
Basbousa cream filling:
- In a saucepan, add all the ingredients for the cream filling.
- Whisk to combine before you add it to the stove over medium heat.
- Cook and stir constantly until your cream is thick and bubbly.
How to layer cream filled basbousa:
- Remove your cake from the oven once the top is dry to the touch.
- Add the cream filling on top of the baked cake.
- Stir 1 tablespoon of water to the remaining cake batter.
- Slowly pour the cake batter along the outside of the pan over the cream filling. Use a small spoon or spatula to make sure the cake batter is touching the side of the pan and completely covers the cream.
- Pour the remaining cake batter over the center of the basbousa cream.
- Put your basbousa back in the oven and bake it for an additional 30-40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Don't over bake your basbousa!
How to make basbousa syrup:
- While the basbousa bakes for the second time, make the rose water syrup.
- In a saucepan, add 1 cup of raw cane sugar, ¾ cup of water, 1 tablespoon of rose water (or 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water), and 1 tablespoon of honey.
- Stir over high heat until the syrup comes to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Once the basbousa is done baking, immediately pour the syrup over the top.
- Top with shredded coconut and chopped pistachios once cool.
Video
Notes
this recipe was adapted from an amazing Arabic food blogger, Amira from https://amiraspantry.com/basbousa-cake-semolina-dessert-with-cream/
Some people like more fluffy basbousa, in this case use olive oil or avocado oil. For more dense basbousa that is a bit more "syrup-ey" use melted coconut oil (this is my families favorite).
Nutrition facts on this recipe are only an estimate and may vary based on the ingredients you choose. I made my basbousa with toasted coconut almond milk.
Nutrition
Serving: 1pieceCalories: 434kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 6gFat: 21.6gSaturated Fat: 2.5gPotassium: 67mgFiber: 1gSugar: 33gCalcium: 128mgIron: 0.69mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!