🍰 Namoura (basbousa)

Name: Namoura (basbousa)
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: Levant · Lebanon and Syria
Ingredients: 300 g coarse semolina; 200 g plain yogurt; 150 g sugar; 60 g desiccated coconut; 1 tsp baking powder; 2 tbsp oil for the tray; 16 blanched almonds; Syrup: 200 g sugar, 120 ml water, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp rose water

Origin: Levant · Lebanon and Syria

285kcal

per serving · 100 g

285kcal

per 100 g

4 gProtein4 g / 100 g

9 gFat9 g / 100 g

50 gCarbs50 g / 100 g

Namoura is a dense semolina cake made with yogurt and desiccated coconut, scored into diamonds, topped with blanched almonds and baked until golden. While still hot it is soaked with sugar syrup scented with rose water, which makes it moist, sweet and slightly grainy. It is cut into small pieces and served with tea or coffee, especially during Ramadan and holidays.

Diets

✓

Vegetarianno meat or fish in a typical recipe

✓

No pork

Not veganbecause of: yogurt

Contains glutenbecause of: semolina

Contains dairybecause of: yogurt

Not keto50 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Milk ⚠ Tree nuts

What it is made of

semolinayogurtsugar syrupcoconutalmondsrose water

Recipe

16 servings60 min

Ingredients

300 g coarse semolina
200 g plain yogurt
150 g sugar
60 g desiccated coconut
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp oil for the tray
16 blanched almonds
Syrup: 200 g sugar, 120 ml water, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp rose water

Method

Boil sugar, water and lemon juice for 8 minutes, add rose water and let the syrup cool.
Heat the oven to 180 °C and oil a 25 cm tray.
Mix semolina, coconut, sugar and baking powder, then stir in the yogurt to a thick batter.
Spread in the tray, score into diamonds and press an almond into each.
Bake 30–35 minutes until golden.
Pour the cool syrup over the hot cake and let it soak at least 1 hour before cutting.

How to make it lighter

Use half the syrup — the cake stays moist enough.
Cut 24 small diamonds instead of 16 larger ones.
Enjoy one piece with unsweetened tea or coffee.

History

The cake is known as namoura in Lebanon and Syria, basbousa in Egypt and hareeseh in parts of Palestine and Jordan. Semolina cakes soaked in syrup are found across the Middle East, the Balkans and Turkey, and namoura is a staple of Levantine sweet shops today.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →