Honey Pistachio Basbousa Squares 🍰🇱🇧

Description

Soft, tender semolina cake soaked in fragrant honey citrus syrup, finished with crunchy pistachios for a rich Middle Eastern dessert that melts in your mouth. 🍯

Hook

Stir, bake and soak—this simple one-pan basbousa turns everyday semolina and yogurt into glossy, honey-soaked squares that taste like a pastry shop treat at home.

Ingredients

• Cake
• 🥣 Fine semolina: 250 g (1½ cups / 8.8 oz)
• 🥥 Unsweetened desiccated coconut: 50 g (½ cup / 1.8 oz)
• 🍚 Sugar: 120 g (½ cup + 2 tbsp / 4.2 oz)
• 🧂 Fine salt: 2 g (¼ tsp / 0.07 oz)
• 🧁 Baking powder: 8 g (2 tsp / 0.28 oz)
• 🥛 Plain whole-milk yogurt: 240 g (1 cup / 8.5 oz)
• 🧈 Melted unsalted butter or ghee, cooled: 120 g (½ cup / 4.2 oz)
• 🍯 Liquid honey: 30 g (1½ tbsp / 1 oz)
• 🌼 Vanilla extract: 5 ml (1 tsp / 0.17 fl oz)
• Syrup
• 💧 Water: 240 ml (1 cup / 8 fl oz)
• 🍚 Sugar: 200 g (1 cup / 7 oz)
• 🍋 Fresh lemon juice: 10 ml (2 tsp / 0.34 fl oz)
• 🌸 Orange blossom water or rose water: 5 ml (1 tsp / 0.17 fl oz)
• 🍯 Honey (stirred in at the end): 30 g (1½ tbsp / 1 oz)
• Topping
• 🥜 Shelled pistachios, roughly chopped: 40 g (⅓ cup / 1.4 oz)
• 🥥 Extra coconut for sprinkling (optional): 10 g (2 tbsp / 0.35 oz)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Mix the dry base
2. Grease a 20×20 cm (8×8 in) baking pan and line the bottom with parchment. In a large bowl whisk together semolina, coconut, sugar, salt and baking powder until evenly combined.
3. 2️⃣ Add the wet ingredients
4. In a second bowl whisk yogurt, melted butter or ghee, honey and vanilla until smooth. Pour into the dry mixture and stir with a spatula until no dry patches remain; the batter will be thick and spoonable, not runny.
5. 3️⃣ Spread and score
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula, pressing it evenly into the corners. Let it rest 10 min so the semolina hydrates. With a sharp knife, lightly score the top into 4×4 squares (16 pieces), wiping the blade between cuts.
7. 4️⃣ Bake
8. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Bake the cake in the center of the oven for 25–30 min, until the top is deep golden and the edges pull slightly from the pan. A toothpick in the center should come out mostly clean.
9. 5️⃣ Cook the syrup
10. While the cake bakes, combine water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Simmer 6–8 min until slightly thickened. Remove from heat, stir in lemon juice, orange blossom or rose water and honey. Keep the syrup warm, not boiling hot.
11. 6️⃣ Soak the basbousa
12. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, re-trace the scored lines to define the squares. Slowly ladle the warm syrup evenly over the hot cake, allowing it to soak in between additions. The pan should look glossy but not flooded; use almost all the syrup.
13. 7️⃣ Finish and cool
14. Sprinkle the top with chopped pistachios and a little extra coconut if using. Let the basbousa cool at room temperature for at least 45–60 min, until the syrup is absorbed and the squares slice cleanly. Cut along the scored lines and serve at room temperature.

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 20 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 30 min
😌 Rest/Soak: 60 min
🕒 Total: 1 h 50 min

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