Namoura- Sweet Semolina Cake (Recipe 2)

Namoura is a sweet, savory semolina cake often called Basbousa in some regions of the Middle East. This cake is moist and scrumptious and will surely satisfy your sweet tooth.

I have previously shared a Basbousa Recipe and I am back with another Namoura/Basbousa recipe that was also successful. I just want to remind you all that the quality of the semolina makes a huge difference in taste and texture. So make sure you get the semolina that's made from durum wheat (yellow in color) and not from rice. Unlike the first Basbousa recipe, this Namoura recipe calls for two types of semolina: coarse and fine, which are both available in local Arabic stores or at Whole Foods.

Recipe adapted from DedeMed

What You Need:

1/2 cup fine semolina
2 cups coarse semolina
1/2 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 packet or 2 tsp dry active yeast
1/4 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp water
1/2 cup yogurt ( I used vanilla flavor)
1 cup milk
1 cup melted sweet butter
1/2 cups almonds or pistachios for garnishing
2 1/2 cup syrup

Syrup Recipe:

2 cups sugar
1 cup water
juice of 1/2 of a lemon
1 Tbsp rose water or orange blossom water

Combine sugar, water and lemon juice in a pot and let simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes then add the rose water and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely before serving.

What To Do:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 5 dry ingredients. In another bowl combine the yeast, water and 1/4 tsp sugar and let it sit for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the yogurt and milk until well combined. Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and stir, slowly add the rest of the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.
4. Stir well until all ingredients are well combined.
5. Spray a 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray, then pour in the cake mixture. The mixture should be a bit heavy.
   
6. Smooth out the top of the cake. Decorate with almonds or pistachios or any nut of your choice.
7. Bake for 50 min to an hour until the top is dark golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
   
8. Remove the cake form the oven and poke small holes in the top with a knife so that the cake absorbs the syrup. Pour about 1 1/2 cup room temperature syrup on top of the cake, let it absorb then pour over the rest of the syrup(remaining 1 cup) and let the cake sit until completely cooled then serve.

Enjoy!!

Namoura- Sweet Semolina Cake (Recipe 2)