🍰 Sfouf (Turmeric Semolina Cake)
Sfouf is a bright yellow Lebanese cake made from semolina coloured with turmeric and fragrant with anise. It is dense and slightly crumbly rather than fluffy, only mildly sweet, and each diamond-cut square is topped with pine nuts. It is served in small pieces with tea or coffee.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 300 g fine semolina
- 1½ tsp ground turmeric
- 200 g sugar
- 150 ml vegetable oil
- 300 ml water
- 1 tsp ground anise
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 30 g pine nuts
Method
- Heat the oven to 180 °C and oil a 25 cm square tin.
- Mix semolina, turmeric, anise and baking powder.
- Stir in sugar, oil and water to a smooth batter.
- Pour into the tin, press pine nuts on top and bake 35–40 minutes until golden.
- Cool and cut into diamonds or squares.
How to make it lighter
- Cut small pieces: a 5 cm square is plenty with tea.
- Reduce the sugar by a quarter; the anise keeps the flavour full.
- Use fewer pine nuts — one per piece is traditional.
History
Sfouf is a traditional home cake in Lebanon and is also baked in Syria and Palestine. This oil-based version without eggs or dairy is common during fasting periods and remains a familiar bakery and household sweet.
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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 →