Coconut Basbousa with Syrup and a Gift Card

Remember the last coconut basbousa post? That was a syrup free version, so I decided to go ahead and make one with syrup (the more common version, and my favorite). The one thing that drives me crazy about Middle Eastern syrup cake recipes is that the amount of syrup used AFTER the boiling it done is never listed. I either end up with a cake that has way too much syrup or not enough. I went ahead and included what I think is the best amount, which is 2 cups. You could go a little over that, but I wouldn't go under. I get a tiny bit more than 2 cups and it is perfect. Oh yes, and this is definitely a super sweet dessert, so cut the pieces small. This seems to be common in Middle Eastern desserts. Lots and lots and lots of sugar. I love it.

Although, really, if you ordered peach or apple cobbler with a side of ice cream, it would probably have more sugar than this dessert, so don't stress it. :)

Win a Free Amazon Gift Card:
ONE MORE NOTE! :) I just received an Amazon gift card from the good folks at (link removed) and you can too. Here's how it works. There are 4 Fairy Hobmother's that will sort through the comments on this post and randomly select someone to receive a free Amazon gift card (the amount varies). Of course, there are some restrictions. If you are outside of the US or Canada, then you may not be selected (I'm told that it depends if the country has an Amazon store). So to participate, simply leave a comment on this post and if you are selected then you will receive an email from Appliances Online. If you accept this free gift, then you will be required to mention them on your blog post and then they will sort through your post comments to select another winner and so on and so on. Simple as that!

And a special thanks to Katie at This Chick Can Cook for posting this giveaway, which allowed lucky little me to comment and win. :)

And one more special thanks to The Mommy Goods. I'm having a lucky week because I won Best Bottom cloth diapers there! Yay!!!!

Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately

Pour the batter into a pan

After baking, cut immediately (and carefully) 

Pour on the warm syrup

Decorate with coconut and almonds, then let it sit so the syrup can absorb

Moist and delicious cake

Coconut Basbousa with Syrup
Serving Size = At least 8 - 12

Cake

• 1 1/4 cups semolina
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups coconut flakes (unsweetened)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, melted (8 tablespoons)

Syrup

• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar

For the cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8x11 inch pan. In large bowl mix together the semolina, flour, coconut, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, mix together the milk, egg, almond extract and melted butter. Combine the two and mix until just combined. Pour into the pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes, or until set and the edges are lightly browned.

For the syrup:

1. I start the syrup after I place the cake into the oven. Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a full boil, drop the heat halfway between medium and low and gently simmer for 7 minutes. 
2. Remove from heat and pour into another container to cool (I use a 2 cup pyrex measuring glass). The syrup should not reach room temperature, it should still be pretty warm before pouring over the cake, so sometimes I wait 5 or 10 minutes after placing the cake into the oven to start it. When you pour the syrup into the glass it will not be very thick at all. It should be watery and you should have 2 cups or maybe a tiny, tiny bit more.

Assemble the cake:

1. Remove the cake from the oven and immediately (and carefully) cut into pieces. Sometimes I make diamonds, sometimes squares, but I keep them pretty small because it's a sweet dessert. After cutting, immediately pour the syrup slowly over the cake. Decorate with coconut and almonds (optional) and leave it to cool to room temperature so that the syrup can soak it.

Linking to: Hearth and Soul, Full Plate Thursday, Gallery of Favorites