Any basbousa purists may want to avert their eyes for the remainder of this post, as things are about to get very, very impure. The basbousa in question has no coconut, no blanched almonds, and not even a drop of rose or orange blossom water. If you’re intrigued, please read on!
When I was working in Cairo, Egypt, I lived just a few blocks away from the iconic Mandarine Koueider sweet shop. It was a rare weekend when I didn’t stop by to feast my eyes on the dazzling displays of sweets, rich with nuts and and glistening with sugar syrup – and an even rarer occasion that I left empty-handed.
I’m pretty sure I tried everything on offer, but my favorite was a slice of rich, sticky basbousa. When I returned stateside, I was delighted to find out that basbousa is actually dead easy to make, a one-bowl wonder of coarse semolina, shredded coconut, yogurt, and butter; after baking, it’s doused with a simple syrup flavored with rose, lemon, and/or orange blossom water, resulting in an effortlessly moist and flavorful crumb. Compared to it’s fussier friend the baklava, basbousa is literally a piece of cake.
This past week, I had a flash of inspiration during an apple cider experiment gone awry. I was attempting to make a cider reduction and on the way, I missed the turn for a maple syrup consistency and ended up with caramelized, very sweet, apple cider molasses. Something a little too intense on its own, but perhaps just perfect for soaking into a rich, blank cake canvas.
I doubled-down on the fall flavors by removing the coconut and using walnuts in place of the traditional blanched whole almonds. The result was a deep and dark basbousa, with rich and complex caramel apple notes.
One word of caution – depending on the consistency of your boiled syrup, it may not soak the cake as efficiently as the traditional syrup. Mine was on the thick side and soaked the edges well, but in the middle only made it through ~1/4 inch. If you want to achieve maximum syrup distribution, aim for a thinner consistency. If you go too far and end up with molasses, poking holes in the top of the cake before pouring the syrup will help it soak through.
Apple cider basbousa
Ingredients
- 6 cups apple cider**
- 225g coarse semolina
- 90g butter, room temperature
- 50g sugar
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 450g full-fat sour cream or yogurt (not greek)
- walnuts to decorate
Directions
- Butter a 9-inch springform pan (you can use a non-springform pan but basbousa will be harder to remove).
- Mix the semolina, sugar, baking soda, and butter in a stand mixer or by hand until smooth. Add yogurt or sour cream and mix just until combined. Spread into prepared pan and level with offset spatula. Cover with a clean towel and let rest for 3 hours.
- Make the apple cider syrup. Pour cider into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil, then immediately reduce heat to medium or medium-low and maintain at a simmer, uncovered. Reduce by a little over 2/3, aiming for a consistency similar to maple syrup; this should take about an hour to an hour and a half. Remove from heat and cover to keep warm.
- About 15 minutes before you are ready to bake the cake, preheat oven to 400F. Cut the raw cake into diamond shapes or wedges, cleaning knife between cuts, and decorate with walnuts. Bake for 40 minutes until golden brown.
- Remove from oven, recut along the shapes you originally made, and immediately pour warm syrup all over cake. If your syrup is very thick, poke holes in the cake prior to soaking. Let it soak for at least 1 hour before serving.
**While any non-alcoholic apple cider will work, if you want a transparent syrup, choose a cider that does not look homogenously opaque in the bottle before shaking.
