Semolina Cake - Basbousa or Namoura

 

I hope everyone has had a wonderful Halloween. Halloween passed without much fanfare in our family, but something that has been receiving a lot of attention by my family lately is this semolina and coconut cake. Even though everybody in our family has different preferences when it comes to food in general, this cake was relished by all of us, not once but three times last month. This cake doesn't have a cakey texture but it is very soft, moist and slightly crumbly. It smells heavenly from the rosewater and tastes even better on the second day.  

It goes by many different names and is wildly popular in Greek, Turkey, throughout the Levant and the North African countries, since many of these countries share a common Ottoman heritage.  The recipe varies a great deal though, some contain eggs while others don't, some include yogurt while others include milk, some made with butter or clarified butter and others with vegetable oil, some with coconut and others without. I made it egg-less and without milk to store it a little longer. A piece of this delectable semolina cake, and perhaps a cup of Moroccan mint tea, is everything you need to be transcended to another world in this autumn cold. 

Cake:
2 cups (350 g) fine semolina (cream of wheat)
1/2 cup (35 g) unsweetened, desiccated coconut
1/2 cup (100 g) caster sugar
150 g melted butter (at room temperature)
3/4 cup (200 g) plain Turkish yogurt (10 %)
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
20-30 blanched almonds or almond flakes (for garnish)

Syrup:
1 cup water
1 cup (225 g) caster sugar
1 1/2 tbs rose water
3 tsp lemon or lime juice

Method: 
To blanch the almonds, boil the water until it is hot and bubbly. It will take about 7-8 minutes with the lid on. Place the almonds in a small bowl and pour about half of the hot water over the almonds and put a lid on. Allow the almonds to soak in the hot water for about 10 minutes. Take an almond out and rub it between your fingers. If the skin doesn't come off easily allow the almonds to soak for a little longer. If they come off easily, pour the water out and start blanching all the almonds. Spread the almonds on a dry towel and pat dry and keep them in the towel overnight. I cut the almonds into halves but if you find that difficult, you could use whole almonds or store-bought almond flakes.  
   
The syrup has to be at room temperature and the cake should be warm when you pour the syrup over the cake, so you have to prepare the syrup before baking the cake. To make the syrup, boil the sugar and the water at medium heat. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved. Then add the lemon juice and remove the scum (if any) that floats to the top. Add the rosewater and boil until the syrup thickens a little (if you stir with a spoon, it will coat the back of the spoon and if you touch it, the syrup will feel a little thick and slimy). Don't let the syrup boil for a long time and thicken up too much though, it means less syrup. It will take about 15 minutes to boil the syrup. Once ready, remove from stove and allow to come to room temperature.  

In a large bowl, mix the semolina and the baking soda. Then add the coconut, sugar and salt and mix well. Add the melted butter and yogurt and mix well with a spoon until well combined and it comes together. With 3/4 cup yogurt it all came together for me but you could add a little bit more if you have difficulty it combining everything. Either way, the batter will be thick and come together, almost like a dough. Lightly butter a 27 cm (about 10 inch) non-removable cake pan/pie plate before placing parchment paper (so that the paper doesn't move) and then lightly butter the sides and the bottom (if you use a cake pan with removable bottom, there is a risk that the syrup runs down the sides). Spoon in the cake batter and even it out on top with a spoon. Allow it to rest for 15-20 minutes. Then cut the cake into diamonds or squares (before baking it). Place the blanched almonds or almond flakes in the middle of each diamond/square and gently press them down a little.

Bake the cake at 175 C (350 F) in a preheated oven, in the middle rack for about 20 minutes first. Take the cake out and gently cut it into diamonds/squares again (if you cut the cake when it is fresh out of the oven, it might crumble. This is why it is good to cut it before it is fully baked). Place the cake back into the oven and bake for another 20-25 minutes until it looks golden and crisp on top. Take the cake out and spread the syrup slowly and evenly on top of the cake. Allow the cake to soak up the syrup for a couple of hours or overnight and cool down to room temperature. Then cut the cake again when it has cooled down before serving. You can keep the cake refrigerated, and warm it up before serving. You have to warm it up before serving, otherwise it will feel like a brick. I don't warm up the whole cake, only the pieces that are to be served - a few seconds in the microwave is enough. You can keep it refrigerated for up to 1 1/2 weeks.     

Mocha cake - Mockaruta

This cake is one of my childhood favorites. Mockaruta a delightful chocolate cake with a pretty sweet mocha frosting. It goes by many names in Scandinavia. In Sweden, it is often addressed as mockaruta or chokladruta (literally meaning mocha square or chocolate square) because it is baked in rectangular baking pans and then cut into squares, like brownies. I used to order this at every single cafe I visited in my school days. But those cafe visits were very expensive for me back then and I had look up other alternatives. Even though I was under the impression that this cake was difficult to make at home I gave it a shot. It turned out wonderful the second time and there was no stopping me every since from making this. 

Cake:
150 g butter
2 eggs
1 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanillin sugar (or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract)
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbs cocoa powder
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk

Frosting:
75 g butter
2 tbs cold coffee (1-2 tsp espresso coffee powder + 2 tbs hot water)
1 tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp vanillin sugar (optional)
3/4-1 cup icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

Garnish:
Desiccated coconut or sprinkles (optional)
Strawberries (optional)

Method:
Melt the butter at below medium heat. Put aside and allow to cool down. Lightly butter either a 7*9 inch square baking pan or a 9 inch round baking pan. Place a parchment paper at the bottom and butter the parchment paper lightly. Prepare the dry ingredients by mixing flour, vanillin sugar, baking powder and cocoa powder and sift twice. In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs with sugar until pale and fluffy. Add the butter and mix until well blended. First, drizzle half of the milk into the egg mixture. Then sift half of the dry ingredients in there and fold with a spoon. Then drizzle the remaining milk and then the dry ingredients. Fold until well-blended.

Spoon in the cake batter into the baking pan and put the cake in the oven. Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 200 C (about 400 F) in the bottom third rack for about 25 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the cake. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to cool down and meanwhile, go ahead and prepare the mocha frosting.

To make the frosting, add the coffee powder in a small cup and then pour 2 tbs of warm water and mix. Put aside. Melt the butter at low heat. Once the butter has melted, sift the cocoa powder and then drizzle the coffee. Whisk until well blended. Measure up the icing sugar and sift it in the same bowl, add the vanilla sugar and mix. Cook at low heat for about 2-3 minutes while continuously whisking until it is completely free of any lumps. Once the frosting looks smooth, take it away from the stove. Let it cool for sometime (but not completely) before spreading it on the cake. Drizzle it on top of the cake and spread it evenly. Sprinkle some desiccated coconut or sprinkles on top, if desired. Allow the frosting to stiffen completely before cutting into slices. I prefer to keep this cake in an airtight container at room temperature but you can also store them in the fridge.

Browned Butter Brownies

Have you guys heard of these browned butter brownies before? I hadn't. I only recently found out there was such a brownie when I was searching the web for alternative brownie recipes and landed on Bon Appetite's website. This recipe is from last year's February issue (yeah, I know I'm really late). I don't quite like the bitterness from unsweetened dark chocolate and was looking high and low for alternative brownie recipes. After perusing many brownie recipes I found this recipe for browned butter brownies. These are made of cocoa powder and the browned butter gives these a nutty, chewy and toffee-like flavour as opposed to the regular smooth, fudge-like brownies. The raving reviews it received from, seemingly everyone who had tried them, piqued my interest. Naturally, I wanted to try this sensational recipe and find out for myself whether these brownies are all that good as they were made out to be.

Cheesecake Brownies - Chocolate cheesecake squares

Last week, I was taken by surprise when Taruna of Easyfoodsmith gave me the "Versatile Blogger Award". I am really flattered, that too, to be sharing this wonderful award with the likes of Sonali of Onlyfishrecipes, Jay of Tasty Appetite, Amy of Food Corner et al who are all my seniors in the blogosphere. Thank you so much for sharing your award with me, Taruna.

To celebrate the occasion, I'm posting this cheesecake brownie or chocolate cheesecake square recipe. It's a two-in-one recipe. The bottom consists of fudge-like brownies and the top layer consists of cheesecake with chocolate swirls. Initially, I was hesitant whether to make them or not. But I had some chocolate and a cream cheese box that I wanted to empty and I must admit that I'm glad that I made them because were deliriously delicious. This is one of the best bakes I have ever made. These sinfully delicious cheesecake brownies take some time, effort and precision to make but are well worth the effort in the end. The thing about brownies is that, unlike cakes, they will remain just as succulent on the second day (and after that) as they were on the day you made them.
Brownie:
115 g semisweet chocolate (chips)
85 g salted butter
1/2 cup flour
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Cheesecake:
200 g soft cream cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup caster sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Prepare a 9*9 inches (23*23 cm) or slightly smaller baking pan. Line the bottom of the baking pan with aluminium foil or lightly buttered parchment paper and the sides as well.

Heat 1 inch of water in a bowl at below medium heat. Place a heat-proof bowl on top of it, that doesn't touch the water underneath. Melt the butter in the bowl first and then add evenly chopped chocolate. Keep stirring until it becomes completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat. Mix in the sugar and vanilla extract. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the flour and lightly whisk until the batter is smooth. Try not to incorporate too much air into the batter. Put aside about 1/3 of the chocolate batter. Now spoon in the remainder of the brownie batter evenly in the baking pan.

Prepare the cheese cake now. In a bowl, whisk the cream cheese until soft with a handmixer. Add the sugar and the egg and process until creamy, smooth and well-blended. Spoon in and spread the cheese cake batter evenly on top of the brownie batter. Now, take the brownie batter that you put aside and spoon small dollops of brownie batter evenly over the cream cheese batter. Then with a table knife or wooden knife, swirl the two batters (the cream cheese and the chocolate dollops) on top. Bake the cheesecake brownie in the middle part of the oven at 175 C (350 F) for about 25-30 minutes or until they look baked and the edges of the brownie are beginning to brown.

Remove the brownies from the oven and allow them to cool on a wire rack. Cut them in squares once they have cooled down completely. You could also refrigerate them (after allowing them to cool to room temperature) to get a firm chocolate cheesecake squares. Keep them in an airtight container, in the fridge or at room temperature.

Sending this to Valentine's Day Special by Ancy of Anzz Cafe

Carrot Cake

I'm trying to empty and clear the fridge and the pantry of some food stuff, which is a much welcomed move by my family who have been nagging that "my" food items were taking up so much space in the fridge. Among the things, I had an unopened small box of cream cheese and some tablespoons of hazelnuts, and the first thing that flashed through my mind when I saw these ingredients was carrot cake. I haven't had carrot cake in years now, so I decided to bake it. I made it with frosting but it is tasty without frosting as well (perhaps even healthier).

 

Ingredients:
2 cups grated carrots
1 2/3 cups flour
1 1/4 cup caster sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/3 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbs fresh grated ginger
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Tosca cake

Tosca cake is a sponge cake with an syruplike almond-topping.



Tosca cake:
100 g butter
2 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk

Topping:
75 g butter
75 g almond flakes
1/3 cup caster sugar
1 tbs flour
1 tbs milk

Melt the butter. Beat eggs and sugar in a bowl until fluffy, add the melted butter and half of the milk. Mix flour and baking powder in a separate bowl and sieve half of it into the mixture. Stir the mixture and then add rest of the milk and dry ingredients. Bake the cake at 175 C for about 20-25 minutes in the lower part of the oven.

Meanwhile, prepare the topping by melting the butter on a low heat. Add sugar, milk and sieve the flour and mix well without any lumps. Then add the almond flakes and stir till the topping thickens. Take the cake out and spread the topping evenly on the cake and put it back in the oven. This time, bake the cake in the middle part of the oven for about 15 minutes. Insert a skewer and check if the cake is ready. The cake is ready when the skewer comes out clean and topping is golden brown. Now it's time to enjoy this delicious cake!